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ILLUSTRATED  EDITION PRICE,  $2. 


SECRETS 


OF  THE 


LATE  REBELLION, 


NOW  REVEALED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME. 


BY  DR..FREESE, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  TRAVELS  IN  THE  HOLY  LAND,  SYRIA,  ASIA   MINOR,  AND  TURKEY  ;"  "  TRAVELS 

IN  THE   LAND   OF   THE    PHARAOHS;"    "TRAVELS   IN  SWITZERLAND,    ITALY,  GERMANY, 

AND   OTHER   EUROPEAN    COUNTRIES;"    "BOOK    OF  JOB,   TRANSLATED   FROM   THE 

HEBREW    HEMISTICH    TO    ENGLISH   RHYTHMIC    VERSE,   WITH    LIFE   OF    JOB, 

ETC.;"   "ELIZABETH'S  MISSION;"  "  PARADISE  LOST  AND  PARADISE 
REGAINED,  TRANSPOSED   FROM  BLANK  TO  RHYTHMIC  VERSE, 

WITH    LIFE  OF  JOHN    MILTON ;"    "  BIBLICAL    BIOGRAPHY, 
EMBRACING    II2I    NAMES;"    "LIVES     OF    THE   PRESI 
DENTS;"  "THE  CURSE  CONSUMMATED,  OR  LES 
SONS  FROM   HISTORY  ;"  "  ST.  JOHN*S  REV 
ELATION,  AS  REVEALED  IN  HISTORY," 
AND  "  CRAYON  SKETCHES  FROM 
THE    LIFE   OF  CHRIST." 


PHILADELPHIA: 

CROMBARGAR  &  CO. 
1882. 


LOAN  STACK 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

CROMBARGAR  &  CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


N.B.— All  communications  relative  to  this  work,  should  be  addressed  to 

CROMBARGAR  &  CO., 

No.  666  Bankson  Street, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


fll 


AN  ENGLISH  LORD  AND  REBEL  COLONEL  MAKING  THEIR 
WAY  FROM  WASHINGTON  TO  RICHMOND  THROUGH 
UNION  AND  REBEL  LINES  .  .  .  Frontispiece 

PACK 

FORT  SUMTER 20 

MONTGOMERY,  ALA.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  .        .        .        .28 

FARRAGUT  AT  MOBILE -34 

BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG 40 

PICKET-DUTY  DURING  THE  WAR 52 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  .  .  .  .64 
CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  .  .  .  70 

NASHVILLE,  TENN.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR    .        .        .        .86 

CAPITOL  AT  RALEIGH,  N.  C 98 

GUERILLAS  ON  THE  WAR-PATH no 

DEATH  OF  GENERAL  MCPHERSON 124 

GALVESTON,  TEXAS 132 

SHERMAN'S  MARCH  THROUGH  SOUTHERN  CONFEDERACY  .  148 
ALEXANDRIA,  VA.,  DURING  THE  WAR  ....  158 
WASHINGTON'S  RESIDENCE— MT.  VERNON  .  .  .176 
VlCKSBURG,  MlSS.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  ....  2O2 

WHEELING,  VA.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR         .        .        .        .222 

ix 

739 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PACK 

MEMPHIS,  TENN.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  ....  238 
LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  ....  264 
NATCHEZ,  Miss.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  ....  280 
HAND-TO-HAND  FIGHTING  AT  MECHANICSVILLE  .  .302 
THE  GUERILLAS  ATTACKING  UNION  TROOPS  .  .  .314 
PITTSBURG  LANDING  DURING  THE  WAR  .  .  .  .320 
HARPER'S  FERRY,  VA.,  BEFORE  THE  WAR  .  .  .  330 
THE  FALLEN 342 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

PACK 

This  not  a  General  History  of  the  War,  but  of  Special  Inci 
dents  not  Heretofore  Published — Most  of  the  Actors  Gone — 
Whence  the  Facts  Contained  in  this  Volume — Changes  Since 
the  War — Facts  Herein  Mostly  New — Old  Facts  used  as 
Frames  and  Canvas;  New  Facts  as  Pictures — All  Reliable 
— Fabian  Policy  and  Masterly  Diplomacy — Written  Without 
Prejudice,  and  from  an  Historic  Standpoint  Only  ....  21 

CHAPTER   II. 

RUNNING   THE  LAND  BLOCKADE. 
KING   COTTON   BEHIND  THE   SCENES. 

Meeting  of  Confederate  Congress — Their  Acts— President  Da- 
vis's  Proclamation — President  Lincoln's  Counter  Proclama 
tion — Second  Meeting  of  Confederate  Congress  —  Message 
and  Acts — Third  Meeting  of  Confederate  Congress,  at  Rich 
mond — Message  and  Acts — President  Buchanan's  Adminis 
tration. — Lincoln  Inaugurated  President — His  Cabinet — Call 
for  Troops—Strength  of  Blockade  Squadron — Extra  Session 
of  United  States  Congress — Message  and  Acts — Attempt  at 
Liverpool  to  Break  Blockade — English  Blockade-Runners — 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore  Blockade-Runners — 
Business  at  Wilmington,  N.  C. — Northern  Sympathizers  with 
the  South — Quotations  from  Kattell  and  from  Macaulay  Ap 
plied  to  Condition  of  United  States  Government 29 


Xli  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ESTABLISHING  STATIONS— FIRST  TRIP  AND  FIRST 

PASSENGERS. 

BRAINS   AND   CAUTION   SHIFTING   THE    SCENES. 

PAGE 

Battle  of  Gettysburg — The  Outside  and  the  Inside  View  of  that 
Battle — Things  Known  Behind  the  Scenes — Communication 
Between  North  and  South  Nearly  Closed  —  Necessity  the 
Mother  of  Invention — President  Davis's  Plan  for  Opening 
New  Route — How  it  was  Done — Who  the  Conductors,  and 
how  Managed — Who  Kept  Way-stations,  and  how  Paid — 
Guides,  Engineers,  Brakemen,  and  how  Paid  —  Depot  in 
Washington  —  Special  Agents  in  Washington,  Baltimore, 
Philadelphia,  and  New  York  —  First  Letters  by  New  Line, 
and  to  Whom — The  Baltimore  Cotton  Ring — The  Philadel 
phia  Cotton  Ring — The  New  York  Cotton  Ring — Heads  and 
Directors  of  Each — Lamb  and  Waddell  First  Passengers  on 
New  Line — Difficulties  and  Amusing  Incidents  of  their  Trip 
Across  the  Lines  and  Through  the  Confederate  States — Their 
Return — Report  to  Cotton  Rings — Results 41 

CHAPTER   IV. 

ANOTHER   CONDUCTOR    ON  THE  NEW  LINE. 
CAUTION   SLIDING   THE   SCENES. 

Colonel  Kttigore  Conductor  on  New  Line — His  Former  Services 
and  Character — His  First  Service  as  Conductor — Recognized 
in  Baltimore — Alarm,  and  Happy  Termination — Again  Rec 
ognized  by  One  of  Baker's  Secret  Detectives — Shoots  Detec 
tive  on  the  Spot — Serves  Till  Line  Closes — Returns  to  Charles 
ton — Opens  Law-Office — One  of  the  First  Men  of  the  State  .  65 

CHAPTER  V. 

NOBILITY  AFTER   THE  NUGGETS. 
DIPLOMACY    PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

Cotton  and  Gold  Markets  in  1863— What  They  Indicated— Great 
Divorce  Trial — Arguments  on  Both  Sides — First  Confederate 
Loan — By  whom  Taken — Arrival  in  New  York  of  Lord  Brew- 
erton— His  Conference  with  President  McLane — Goes  to  Bal 
timore,  and  whom  he  Meets — Then  on  to  Washington — Scene 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

PACK 

in  Ben.  Beveridge's  Saloon — Then  to  English  Embassy — 
Remains  with  Lord  Lyons — Concludes  to  go  South — How  he 
Goes — His  Disguise — Hiding  in  Negro  Hut — Midnight  Ride 
Behind  a  Blind  Mule,  in  a  Two-wheel  Dirt  Cart — How  he 
Gets  Through  the  Union  Lines — Arrival  in  Richmond — Stops 
with  President  Davis — Grand  Ball  at  Executive  Mansion  in 
Honor  of  Lord  Brewerton — The  Dresses  of,  and  who  Present 
— Trip  Through  Confederate  States — His  Report  to  President 
Davis — Returns  to  Washington — Attends  President  Lincoln's 
Levee  with  Confederate  Officer — Reports  to  Philadelphia  and 
New  York  Cotton  Rings — Returns  to  England — Other  Eng 
lish  Lords  in  the  Confederate  States — Sons  of  Peers  in  the 
Confederate  Army — All  After  the  Gold  Nuggets 71 

CHAPTER  VI. 

IN  TIGHT  PLACES  AND   OUT. 
SHREWDNESS   PULLING   THE  WIRES, 

Other  Incidents  in  Running  the  Land  Blockade — Mr.  Danger- 
field  a  Passenger— His  Strange  Experiences — Mr.  Willis  a 
Passenger,  and  his  Experiences — One  of  the  Conductors  Ar 
rested  as  a  Spy — How  he  Escapes — Senator  Johnson  in  a  Bad 
Fix — How  he  Got  Out— No  Ill-will  Towards  Perpetrators  .  .  87 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PRISONERS,  HOW  USED  AND  HOW  ABUSED. 
CRAFT  AND   CRUELTY   PROMPTING   THE  ACTORS. 

Bounty  Jumpers,  by  whom  and  how  Encouraged — Richmond 
Diplomacy,  and  how  Put  in  Practice — Bounty  Jumpers  Spe 
cially  Well  Treated — Treatment  of  Other  Union  Prisoners  at 
Libby  Prison— At  Castle  Thunder— At  Salisbury — At  Ander- 
sonville — Related  by  an  Eye-Witness 99 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

GUERILLAS   ON  THE    WAR-PATH. 

CUNNING   AND   DUPLICITY   PROMPTING   THE  ACTORS. 
DESTRUCTION    IN   THE    BACKGROUND. 

"Moseby's  Cavalry,"  how  Organized  and  how  Operated — Start 
ling  Facts  Never  Before  Published— Four  Persons  Bound  with 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chains,  and  then  Burned  with  Storehouse  and  Contents — Steal 
ing  of  a  Horse  from  Lieutenant-Colonel  Phillips — A  "  Dunk- 
ard  "  Murdered  for  his  Money — Paymaster  Tilletson  Gobbled 
Up — Six  Union  Officers  about  to  be  Hung  by  Moseby's  Gue 
rillas,  and  how  Saved — Three  Officers  Stripped  Naked,  and 
Turned  Out  to  Perish — How  Rescued — Murder  of  Cavalry 
Prisoners  After  Surrender — Grant  and  Sheridan's  Plan  of 
Retribution — Terrible  Results ill 

CHAPTER   IX. 

WHAT  BECAME    OF  SLAVES  DURING  AND  AFTER    THE 

WAR. 

THE   ALMIGHTY   DOLLAR    PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 
"WE    NEBER   SEED    'EM   ANY    MORE." 

Number  of  Slaves  Before  the  War—Number  After— What  Be 
came  of  them  During  and  After  the  War — Droves  to  Texas — 
Shiploads  to  Brazil  and  Cuba — How  the  Trade  was  Carried 
On — Kidnapping  After  the  War — Northern  and  Southern 
Consciences 133 

CHAPTER   X. 

THE   CONFEDERACY  AS  SEEN  FROM   WITHIN. 
PRIDE,  PASSION,  AND   WANT    IN   THE   BACKGROUND. 

Suffering  in  the  South  During  the  War,  Related  by  Those  who 
were  Behind  the  Scenes — Fair  Outside  Show  Kept  Up — Going 
Sixty  Miles  for  One  Wagon-load  of  Provisions — Twenty-Five 
Boxes  of  Tobacco  for  One  Bag  of  Coffee — Gambling  Saloons 
in  Richmond — By  whom  Frequented,  and  why — Fortune 
Made  on  Pins  and  Needles — Dogs  and  Cats  at  a  Premium 
— Party  Antagonisms — Congressman  Shot  Dead  on  Floor  of 
House,  in  Richmond — Jealousies  About  Appointments — Ter 
rible  Condition  of  Currency — Five  Dollars  for  a  "  Drink," 
and  Ten  for  a  Breakfast,  at  "  Ballard  House,"  Richmond  .  149 

CHAPTER   XI. 

HOW  ORDER    WAS  MAINTAINED. 
KINDNESS    AND    POWER    (HAND-IN-HAND)  BEHIND    THE 

SCENES. 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Before  and  During  the  War — Its  Capture,  and 
the  Consequences — Military  Governor  and  Provost-Court — 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PACK 

The  Organization  and  Business  of  the  Court — Trial  of  a  Se 
cessionist  for  Assault  upon  a  Union  Man — Fined  Five  Hun 
dred  Dollars — Appeal  to  General  McClellan — Remedy  Com 
plete — No  Similar  Cases  Afterwards 159 

CHAPTER   XII. 

JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT." 
OTHER  POWERS,  AND  HOW  EXERCISED. 

Reports  in  Northern  Journals  about  Court — Nothing  for  Show, 
All  for  Necessity — Threats  of  Assassination — Insults  to  Of 
ficers  and  Sentinels — How  Remedied — Arrest  of  Episcopal 
Clergyman — Conscience  not  to  be  Interfered  with — Attempt 
to  Burn  Church— How  Prevented — Terrible  Cruelty  to  Slaves 
— Parties  Arrested  and  Tried — Sentence,  and  its  Effect  upon 
the  Community — Power  of  Court  Recognized — No  like  Cases 
after  that 177 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

LOYALTY  VERSUS   DISLOYALTY. 
PREJUDICE  AND   SELF-INTEREST  PROMPTING  THE  ACTORS. 

The  Different  Definitions  given  to  the  word  Loyalty — A  Third 
Class  Professing  Loyalty  to  Both,  but  Loyal  to  Neither — Aptly 
Portrayed  by  Macaulay — Cases  before  the  Provost-Court — 
Mr.  E.  for  Giving  "  Aid  and  Comfort  "  to  the  Enemy — Sen 
tence — Concerts  by  Hutchinson  Family — Forbid  by  General 
McClellan — Sustained  by  Judge  Freese — Great  Excitement — 
The  Court  Sustained — Loyalty  Triumphant 203 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

DISLOYALTY  AS  AFFECTING   THE   RIGHTS   OF 
PROPERTY. 

ERROR   AND   PREJUDICE    PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

New  Class  of  Cases  before  the  Court — Abandoned  Property — 
How  Regarded  by  Union  Men  and  Secessionists — General 
Montgomery  and  Judge  Freese's  Views  on  this  Question — 
Attempt  to  Take  a  Piano— Amicable  Trial  of  the  Case— De 
cision  of  the  Court — Confiscation  and  Sequestration  Acts, 
How  Construed  by  the  Court — Happy  Termination  of  Case 
and  End  of  like  Troubles .223 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

A  NEW   WAY  TO  PAY  OLD  DEBTS. 
JUSTICE   SHIFTING   SCENES   AND   PROMPTING  ACTORS. 

PAGE 

Another  Class  of  Cases  before  the  Court — Two  Hundred  Mill 
ion  Dollars  Owed  by  Southern  to  Northern  Merchants — 
Philadelphia  and  New  York  Creditors  after  Alexandria  Debt 
ors — Debtors  in  Richmond,  Goods  in  Alexandria  —  Cases 
taken  up  by  Provost-Court — Rules  of  Procedure — Principles 
Involved — Decision  of  the  Court — Justice  Triumphant .  .  .  239 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

LEGAL    TECHNICALITIES  IN  CONFLICT  WITH  COMMON 

SENSE. 

ANOTHER  ACT  IN  THE  DRAMA — PRIDE  ON  ONE   SIDE  AND 
JUSTICE   ON   THE   OTHER    PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

Nothing  so  Uncommon  as  Common  Sense— Cases  Illustrative — 
Efforts  among  Secessionists  and  Disloyalists  to  Close  the  Pro 
vost-Court —  President  Lincoln's  Answer  —  Secretary  Cam 
eron's  Answer — Applications  to  Attorney-General  Bates  and 
Postmaster-General  Blair  —  Conference  between  President 
Lincoln  and  Judge  Freese — Between  Bates,  Cameron,  and 
Freese — General  McClellan  Brought  in — His  Aid-de-Camp 
Calls  upon  General  Montgomery — The  Order  and  Wishes 
of  General  McClellan — Final  Conference  between  General 
Montgomery  and  Judge  Freese — The  Result — How  Received 
— What  would  have  been  the  Results  of  a  Different  Policy  .  265 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

FACTS,  FIGURES,  AND  FAIR  INFERENCES. 

What  the  Calculations  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet  were 
at  the  Opening  of  Hostilities — How  and  why  they  were  Mis 
taken  in  these  Calculations — Facts  and  Figures  from  Official 
Documents  to  Substantiate  Statements 281 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WHY  THE  SOUTH  HAS  NOT  DENOUNCED    THE  DEM 
OCRATIC  PARTY. 

What  Keeps  the  Party  Alive—What  the  Final  End  of  this  Re 
public .  303 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

HOW  COMES  IT  THAT  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY,  WITH 
SUCH  A  WEIGHT  OF  SIN  UPON  IT,  CAN  STILL  KEEP 
ALIVE  f  PAGB 

This  Question  Fully  and  Fairly  Answered 315 

CHAPTER  XX. 

FROM  ALL  YOUR  STUDY  OF  HISTORY,  WHAT  DEDUC 
TIONS  DO  YOU  DRAW  AS  TO  THE  FINAL  DECLINE 
AND  FALL,  IF  SUCH  A  THING  IS  EVER  TO  BE,  OF 
THIS  REPUBLIC? 

This  Question  Answered  by  a  Review  of  the  History  of  Other 
Republics 321 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  SPARTAN  REPUBLIC— ITS  RISE  AND  FALL,  AND 
WHY.  THE  ATHENIAN  REPUBLIC,  AND  THE  REASON 
OF  ITS  FALL.  THE  THEBAN  REPUBLIC,  AND  THE 
CAUSES  OF  ITS  DESTRUCTION. 

These  Lessons  Applied  to  the  American  Republic 331 

CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  ROMAN  REPUBLIC— ITS  RISE,  GLORY,  DECLINE,  AND 

FALL,  AND    THE  REASON  THEREOF. 
How  the  Facts  of  its  History  may  Serve  as  Lessons  to  Ourselves 
—Our  Immediate  Danger,  and  what  the  Remedy     ....  343 
2*  B 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 
EXPLANATIONS   AND   PLEDGES. 

THE  "  History  of  the  Great  Rebellion,"  as  some  have 
called  it,  or  of  "  The  American  Conflict,"  as  others 
have  called  it,  has  been  written  over  and  over — by  Greeley, 
by  McClusky,  by  Abbott,  by  Kartell,  by  Pollard,  and  by 
others — and  it  is  not  my  intention  to  write  it  again :  but 
I  PURPOSE,  as  Macaulay  says  in  the  first  two  words  of 
that  wonderful  History  of  England  in  which,  by  the 
magic  of  his  pen,  he  has  made  facts,  which,  until  then, 
had  lain  only  in  the  brains  of  old  women,  in  the  traditions 
of  old  men,  in  forgotten  newspapers,  and  in  neglected 
pamphlets,  come  forth  in  all  the  habiliments  of  life ;  some 
grinning  with  merriment,  and  others  frowning  with  de 
spair — some  as  angels  of  heaven,  and  others  as  demons  of 
hell — I  PURPOSE,  throughout  the  whole  of  this  volume,  to 
write  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  those  who,  in  the  great 
war  between  the  United  States  and  the  "  Southern  Con 
federacy,"  stood  in  the  side  wings,  or  behind  the  scenes,  as 
proprietors,  as  stockholders,  as  lessees,  as  stage  managers, 
as  prompters,  as  scene-shifters,  as  curtain- droppers,  as 
wire-pullers,  and  without  whom  the  acts  before  the  scenes 
could  not  have  been,  and  would  not  have  been,  enacted. 
Many,  yea,  most  of  those  who  attended  to  their  various 

21 


22  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

parts  behind  the  scenes,  while  those  in  front  were  attending 
to  theirs,  have  gone  to  their  long  homes.  Like  the  hero 
of  a  hundred  battles — 

"  They  sleep  their  last  sleep  and  have  fought  their  last  battle, 
No  sound  can  awake  them  to  glory  again;" 

yet  a  few  remain,  scattered  throughout  the  North,  scat 
tered  throughout  the  South,  in  cities,  in  towns,  in  offices, 
in  workshops,  in  negro  huts  ;  and  from  these,  and  such  as 
these,  we  have  gathered  and  now  propose  to  put  on  record, 
the  inner  or  secret  history  of  the  greatest  war  of  the  nine 
teenth  century — a  war  in  which  more  men  were  engaged, 
more  deeds  of  valor  done,  more  lives  lost,  and  during 
which  there  was  more  of  masterly  diplomacy  exercised, 
on  both  sides,  than  in  any  war  which  has  occurred  since 
the  days  of  the  Roman  empire. 

Eighteen  years  ago !  Only  three  words,  uttered  in  a 
single  breath  and  seeming  but  as  yesterday,  when  looking 
backward,  and  yet  where  is  the  tongue  that  can  tell,  or 
the  pen  that  can  write  all  that  has  transpired  within  that 
time? 

Fields  made  desolate  by  battles  then  are  now  waving  with 
grain,  covered  by  green  swards,  or  bedecked  with  flowers ; 
what  were  then  hastily  constructed  earthworks  are  now 
grassy  mounds,  covered  over  with  shrubbery ;  what  then 
were  rifle-pits  are  now  pleasant  pathways  for  man  and 
beast;  cities  then  burned,  or  otherwise  made  desolate 
through  the  ravages  of  war,  have  regained  more  than 
their  former  size,  beauty,  and  commercial  prosperity; 
plantations  then  laid  waste  have  been  restored  to  more 
than  their  former  productiveness ;  wounds,  ghastly, 
bloody  wounds,  then  made  by  shot  or  shell,  or  sabre 
cut,  are  now  so  healed  that  even  the  cicatrices  are  scarcely 
observable ;  and,  but  for  vacant  chairs  in  many  house 
holds,  and  too  well-filled  cemeteries  at  Arlington  Heights, 


INTRODUCTORY.  23 

at  Gettysburg,  and  all  over  the  land,  it  would  be  difficult 
for  us  now  to  realize  that  a  terrible,  desolating  war  had 
swept  over  this  country  within  so  short  a  time  as  eighteen 
years. 

Time  is  indeed  the  great  leveller,  bringing  king  and 
subject,  master  and  slave,  to  a  common  platform ;  nor  is 
it  less  the  great  assuager  and  healer.  Passions  which 
burned  in  the  breasts  of  men  with  the  fierceness  of  a  fur 
nace,  eighteen  years  ago,  have  so  smouldered  and  died  out, 
that  not  even  a  spark  can  now  be  found  on  the  hearth 
stones  of  their  hearts ;  and  hence  it  is  that  what  could  not 
have  been  told  fifteen,  ten,  or  even  five  years  ago,  without 
the  risk  of  inflaming  passions  and  leading  to  greater 
harm  than  good,  may  now  be  told  without  the  slightest 
objection  either  from  actors  or  subjects.  In  history,  as  in 
law,  there  are  statutes  of  limitation,  and  when  these  bounds 
are  once  passed,  all  that  occurred  previous  to  those  dates 
is  wiped  from  the  record  of  personal  responsibility,  and 
becomes  the  property  of  the  historian. 

Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  facts  which  I  purpose  to  incor 
porate  in  this  history  will  be  new — that  is,  such  as  have 
never  been  published  before.  They  have  been  known,  of 
course,  to  the  actors  and  to  a  few  confidential  friends,  and 
vague  hints  of  their  existence  have  found  their  way  in 
newspapers  from  time  to  time;  but  never  before  have 
they  reached  the  public  eye  or  ear  in  book  form ;  nor 
would  they  now,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  limitation  of 
responsibility  has  so  far  passed,  that  no  possible  harm  can 
come  from  their  publicity.  To  make  the  new  facts  intel 
ligible  as  to  time  and  bearing,  old  facts  will,  in  some  cases, 
have  to  be  repeated,  but  in  all  such  cases  the  old  facts  will 
be  but  the  frames,  while  the  new  facts  will  be  the  pictures. 

Though  we  are  not  at  liberty  in  all  cases  to  give  the 
sources  of  our  information,  yet  no  one  need  question  the 
substantial  correctness  of  every  statement  found  in  this 


24  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

volume,  though  it  may  occasionally  happen  that  names 
have  been  given  incorrectly  o'r  misspelled,  or  that  the 
dates  are  not  precise.  To  remember  names  and  dates  is  not 
easy  for  any  one,  and  that,  after  a  lapse  of  fifteen  years, 
some  of  these  should  have  been  partially  or  entirely  for 
gotten  by  some  of  our  informants,  is  not  at  all  strange. 
Of  course  we  can  only  give  the  statements  as  received. 
Most  of  them  we  have  had  direct  from  the  lips  of  those 
who  were  participants  in  the  scenes,  others  from  official 
sources,  that  is,  from  those  who  were  in,  or  directly  con 
nected  with,  governmental  departments;  others,  from  hints 
given  at  the  time,  but  the  details  of  which  could  not  be 
stated  until  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  war  had 
subsided  ;  and  still  others,  from  those  who  had  them  from 
the  lips  of  the  participants. 

Some  of  the  facts  and  incidents  hereafter  to  be  related 
are  but  new  manifestations  of  the  Fabian  policy,  and 
however  unfair  they  would  have  seemed  to  Northern 
people  had  they  been  known  at  the  time,  yet  now,  few, 
if  any,  will  regard  them  other  than  as  acts  of  masterly  di 
plomacy  upon  the  part  of  Mr.  Davis  and  his  cabinet.  But 
for  this  policy,  the  Southern  Confederacy  would  have  had 
to  succumb  at  least  two  years  before  it  did ;  and,  on  the 
principle  that  "while  there  is  life  there  is  hope,"  the  longer 
they  could  prolong  the  contest  the  more  to  their  credit. 
The  relative  strength  of  the  North  and  South,  at  the  be 
ginning  of  the  war,  may  be  fairly  represented  by  the 
numbers  20  and  10.  Now  take  one  off  from  each  at  five 
successive  engagements,  and  the  figures  will  stand  15  and 
5.  Before,  the  smaller  equalled  the  one-half  of  the  larger 
number,  now  it  equals  only  the  one-third.  Again  take 
one  off  from  each  at  four  more  engagements,  and  the 
figures  will  stand  1 1  and  I — the  smaller  representing  only 
the  one-eleventh  part  of  the  larger,  while  one  more  en 
gagement  wipes  out  the  smaller  number  entirely,  and  yet 


INTRODUCTORY.  2$ 

leaves  the  one-half  of  the  larger.  From  this  plain  math 
ematical  statement  it  will  be  seen  how  important  it  was 
for  the  Southern  Confederacy  to  pursue  the  Fabian  policy 
of  delay,  both  as  to  its  operations  in  the  field,  and  in  its 
diplomacy  with  English  and  Northern  capitalists. 

The  learning  of  these  "  Secrets  of  the  Late  Rebellion  "  has 
had  the  effect  to  increase,  rather  than  lessen,  our  admira 
tion  of  Jefferson  Davis  as  a  statesman,  and  such  we  think 
will  be  the  effect  upon  all  who  may  read  this  book.  How 
ever  much  we  may  condemn  his  political  principles,  how 
ever  much  we  may  condemn  the  rebellion,  and  however 
rejoiced  we  may  be  that  he  and  it  failed  of  success,  yet, 
now  that  we  know  of  the  secret  as  well  as  the  open  diffi 
culties  with  which  he  had  to  contend,  we  cannot  but 
admire  the  talent,  the  energy,  and  the  perseverance  with 
which  he  overcame  them  all  for  months  and  years ;  and 
at  last  only  yielded  to  necessities  which  no  foresight,  no 
talent,  no  energy  could  have  overcome. 

Nor  is  he  the  only  one  of  the  "  LOST  CAUSE"  whom 
these  "  SECRETS  "  make  us  to  admire  the  more.  Others, 
many  others,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  chapters, 
acted  their  parts  nobly  and  well,  and  deserve  more  credit 
than  has  ever  yet  been  accorded  to  them  by  the  historian ; 
while  others  whose  secret  fiendish  acts  are  herein  recorded, 
acted  worse,  a  thousandfold  worse,  than  the  public  ever 
knew  or  probably  would  have  known  but  for  the  appear 
ance  of  this  volume. 

In  putting  on  record  the  following  facts  and  incidents 
of  the  war,  my  aim  shall  be  to  view  everything  from  a 
historic  standpoint  only.  As  a  Northern  man,  and  as  a 
late  officer  in  the  army,  my  partisanship  and  prejudices 
during  the  war  were  doubtless  as  strong  as  those  of  any 
other  man ;  but  so  far  as  I  know  my  own  heart,  not  a 
particle  of  that  partisanship  or  prejudice  now  remains, 
and  I  believe  that  I  can  write  of  both  sides  with  equal 

3 


26  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

impartiality.  In  relating  the  incidents,  I  may  not  have 
occasion  to  express  any  opinion  at  all  for  or  against; 
but  if  I  should,  my  readers  may  rest  assured  that  it  will 
be  done  without  a  particle  of  prejudice.  With  these  ex 
planations,  and  these  pledges,  I  am  now  ready  to  begin 
the  relation  of  facts  and  incidents  as  they  occurred  Behind 
tJte  Scenes  during  the  late  War.  J.  R.  F. 


CHAPTER    II. 

RUNNING    THE  LAND  BLOCKADE. 
KING   COTTON   BEHIND   THE   SCENES. 

ON  the  4th  of  February,  1861,  the  Confederate  Congress 
met  at  Montgomery,  Ala.  It  was  composed  of  nine 
delegates  from  Alabama,  three  from  Florida,  ten  from 
Georgia,  six  from  Louisiana,  seven  from  Mississippi,  three 
from  North  Carolina,  seven  from  South  Carolina — forty- 
five  in  all. 

They  adopted  the  old  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
with  the  exception  of  five  clauses.  The  first  was  a  change 
in  the  preamble — making  the  States  named,  other  than 
"We  the  people,"  the  contracting  parties;  the  second 
change  related  to  the  "  importation  of  African  negroes," 
etc. ;  the  third  related  to  the  escape  and  delivery  of  slaves ; 
the  fourth  related  to  adjusting  disputes  between  the  con 
tracting  States;  the  fifth  empowered  Congress  to  "lay 
and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  etc."  The  Constitution, 
as  amended,  was  adopted  February  8th,  and  on  the  same 
day  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Mississippi,  was  elected  President, 
and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  Vice-President, 
by  a  unanimous  vote. 

On  the  1 8th  of  February  Mr.  Davis  was  inaugurated, 
and  immediately  after  he  nominated,  and  Congress  con 
firmed,  the  following  cabinet : 

Secretary  of  State Robert  Toombs. 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury C.  G.  Memminger. 

Secretary  of  War L.  Pope  Walker. 

3*  29 


3O  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

This  same  Congress  authorized  a  loan  of  fifteen  million 
dollars,  secured  by  an  export  duty  on  cotton,  and  passed 
an  act  "  To  modify  the  navigation  laws,  and  to  repeal  all 
discriminating  duties  on  ships  and  vessels  " — by  which 
the  entire  coasting  trade  from  Charleston  to  Galveston 
was  thrown  open  to  the  British  flag.  Had  English  capi 
talists  framed  the  law,  they  could  not  have  made  it  to 
please  themselves  better. 

On  the  1 7th  of  April,  1 86 1,  President  Davis  issued  a  proc 
lamation  offering  to  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
to  aid  the  Southern  Confederacy  in  resisting  what  he 
called  "  the  wanton  and  wicked  aggressions  "  of  the  United 
States  government. 

To  this  President  Lincoln  immediately  responded  by 
issuing  a  proclamation,  dated  April  iQth,  declaring  the 
Southern  ports  in  a  state  of  blockade. 

The  Congress  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  assembled 
at  Montgomery  again  on  the  29th  of  April,  1861.  Presi 
dent  Davis,  in  his  message,  advised  the  immediate  passage 
of  a  law  authorizing  the  acceptance  of  proposals  for  pri 
vateers.  He  denounced  the  proclamation  of  President 
Lincoln  in  relation  to  Southern  ports  as  a  mere  paper 
blockade.  "The  loan  authorized,"  he  said,  "had  been 
promptly  taken  (by  whom,  or  on  what  terms,  he  did  not 
say) ;  and  that  a  much  larger  amount  had  now  become 
necessary  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war,"  etc.,  etc. 

This  Congress  authorized  President  Davis  to  issue 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  prescribed  regulations 
for  the  conduct  of  privateers.  It  also  passed  an  act  pro 
hibiting  the  export  of  cotton  or  cotton  yarn  from  any  of 
the  Confederate  States,  except  through  their  own  sea 
ports,  under  a  penalty  of  forfeiture  of  the  cotton,  a  fine 
of  five  thousand  dollars,  and  six  months'  imprisonment. 
It  further  proposed  that  the  planters  should  be  invited  to 
put  their  crops  into  the  hands  of  the  government,  and 


RUNNING    THE    LAND    BLOCKADE.  3! 

accept  Confederate  bonds  for  their  value.  On  the  2Oth 
of  May,  1 86 1,  this  Congress  adjourned,  to  reassemble  at 
Richmond,  Va.,  in  two  months. 

On  the  2Oth  of  July,  1861,  the  Confederate  Congress 
reassembled  at  Richmond.  Meanwhile  the  cabinet  had 
been  enlarged  as  follows : 

Secretary  of  the  Navy S.  R.  Mallory,  of  Florida. 

Postmaster-General J.  H.  Reagan,  of  Texas. 

Attorney-General J.  P.  Benjamin,  of  Louisiana. 

This  Congress  included  sixty-eight  members,  of  whom 
fifteen  were  from  Virginia,  ten  from  North  Carolina,  nine 
from  Alabama,  three  from  Florida,  ten  from  Georgia,  six 
from  Louisiana,  seven  from  Mississippi,  eight  from  South 
Carolina. 

President  Davis  stated  in  his  message  that  "  fifty  million 
dollars  had  been  subscribed  in  cotton,"  and  that  "late 
crops  had  been  abundant."  Among  the  first  acts  of  this 
reassembled  Congress  was  to  adopt  the  convention  of 
Paris  in  1856,  in  respect  to  maritime  law,  whereby  the 
wishes  of  Great  Britain  were  acceded  to  in  all  respects. 
This  was,  in  effect,  that  enemies'  goods  should  be  respected 
in  neutral  ships,  and  that  privateering  should  be  abolished 
in  time  of  war.  The  United  States  government  had  de 
murred  to  these  propositions,  for  reasons  ably  stated  at 
the  time  by  Secretary  Marcy,  and  afterwards  reaffirmed 
by  Secretary  Seward.  Had  they  become  a  part  of  national 
law,  Great  Britain  could  have  taken  every  bale  of  cotton 
from  the  ports  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  without  let 
or  hindrance.  So  far  as  the  Confederacy  was  concerned, 
this  act  of  their  Congress  gave  full  consent;  but  the 
United  States  still  objected,  nor  had  the  propositions  been 
concurred  in  by  all  other  nations.  This  same  Congress 
empowered  President  Davis  to  appoint  two  commissioners, 
with  full  powers,  to  proceed  to  Great  Britain  and  other 


32      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

European  countries,  to  negotiate  a  recognition  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  and,  if  practicable,  make  treaties 
of  commerce. 

Having  thus  briefly  stated  the  organization,  the  acts, 
and  the  position  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  with  regard 
to  financial  and  cotton  questions — the  only  questions  now 
under  consideration — we  will  next  trace  the  acts  of  the 
United  States  government  bearing  upon  the  same  ques 
tions. 

When  the  Confederate  Congress  first  met  at  Mont 
gomery,  Mr.  Buchanan  still  occupied  the  Presidential 
chair  at  Washington ;  but  he  had  done  nothing  to  inter 
fere  with  the  organization  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
nor,  in  his  view  of  the  case,  had  he  any  power  or  author 
ity  to  interfere.  One  month  after,  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1861,  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  was  inaugurated 
President,  Hannibal  Hamlin,  of  Maine,  Vice-President, 
and  immediately  after  the  cabinet  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
formed  as  follows : 

Secretary  of  State Wm.  H.  Seward,  of  New  York. 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury S.  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio. 

Secretary  of  War Simon  Cameron,  of  Penna. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy Gideon  Wells,  of  Conn. 

Secretary  of  the  Interior Caleb  B.  Smith,  of  Ind. 

Postmaster-General Montgomery  Blair,  of  Md. 

Attorney-General Edward  Bates,  of  Mo. 

After  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  the  United 
States  Senate  remained  in  session  until  the  28th  of  March, 
occupied  most  of  the  time  with  confirmations. 

Immediately  after  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter,  April 
I4th,  1861,  President  Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  75,000 
troops ;  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress  to  meet  on 
the  4th  of  July  following,  and  on  the  iQth  of  April,  as 
heretofore  stated,  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  all  the 
Southern  ports  in  a  state  of  blockade.  The  blockading 


FARRAGUT  AT  MOBILE. 


34 


RUNNING    THE    LAND    BLOCKADE.  35 

squadron  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  on  the  4th  of  July,  1861, 
consisted  of  twenty-two  vessels,  with  290  guns  and  3300 
men,  under  command  of  flag-officer  Stringham.  The 
Gulf  squadron,  at  the  same  time,  consisted  of  twenty- 
one  vessels,  with  282  guns  and  3500  men,  under  flag-of 
ficer  Mervin. 

This  Congress  authorized  a  loan  of  $170,000,000;  but 
made  no  effort  at  all  to  negotiate  a  loan  abroad,  as  it  was 
well  understood  that  English  capitalists  were  passively 
hostile  to  the  war,  and,  so  far  as  they  could  consistently, 
favored  the  Southern  Confederacy.  With  them  cotton 
was  king,  and  from  the  first  moment  of  its  life  the 
Southern  Confederacy  did  what  it  could  to  increase  the 
love  between  King  Cotton  and  his  British  admirers.  In 
deed,  it  was  felt  all  over  the  North  (and  hoped  for  in  the 
South)  that  there  was  some  danger  of  European  inter 
ference,  since  the  desire  for  cotton,  the  eagerness  for  free 
^trade,  and  the  hope  of  immediate  gain  might  prompt  to 
an  interference  which  the  aristocratic  element  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  friends  of  despotism  in  France,  would 
have  rejoiced  to  see  undertaken. 

Not  long  after  the  United  States  government  had  given 
notice  to  other  nations  of  the  blockading  of  Southern 
ports,  efforts  were  made  to  break  or  disregard  it.  Liver 
pool  merchants  claimed  that,  under  the  treaty  between  this 
country  and  Great  Britain,  they  had  the  right  to  enter 
any  port  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the  attempt  to 
enforce  the  blockade  against  British  ships  was  an  infringe 
ment  of  national  law.  The  English  government  having 
already  recognized  the  blockade  as  a  belligerent  right, 
the  British  minister  in  reply  told  the  Liverpool  merchants 
that  "if  any  British  ship,  being  a  neutral,  knowingly 
attempts  to  break  an  effective  blockade,  she  is  liable  to 
capture  and  condemnation." 

Notwithstanding  this  notification,  scores  of  British  mer- 


36  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

chants  resolved  to  take  the  risk  of  running  the  blockade, 
because  of  the  immense  profits  to  be  made  therefrom. 
To  buy  cotton  for  ten  cents,  and  then  sell  it  for  thirty 
cents,  per  pound,  and  then  to  pay  the  ten  cents  in  arms, 
accoutrements,  and  other  English  manufactured  goods, 
on  which  they  could  make  a  profit  of  at  least  one  hun 
dred  per  cent,  were  opportunities  which  seldom  occurred, 
and  which,  in  their  estimation,  would  justify  great  risks. 
Nor  were  British  merchants  the  only  ones  who  took  this 
view  of  the  case,  as  the  sequel  of  this  history  will  show. 
The  merchants  and  other  moneyed  men  of  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore  were  just  as  eager  for  the 
"  almighty  dollar,"  and  were  quite  as  ready  to  take  risks 
to  obtain  it.  The  risk  was  lessened  from  the  fact  that 
the  coast  to  be  guarded  extended  over  three  thousand 
miles ;  that  the  number  of  vessels  to  guard  it  (heretofore 
given)  were  but  few  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  coast; 
and  that  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  as  anxious  to^ 
have  them  bring  their  goods  and  take  their  cotton  in 
exchange,  as  English  and  Northern  merchants  were  to 
do  it.  Every  Confederate  fort  and  every  Confederate 
soldier  was  ready  to  render  all  the  aid  possible  to  every 
blockade  runner,  no  matter  whether  from  London,  Liver 
pool,  Nassau,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or  Baltimore.  As 
an  evidence  of  the  extent  to  which  trade  by  blockade 
running  was  carried  on,  it  has  been  estimated  that  the 
amount  of  ships  and  cargoes  sent  in  by  English  capital 
ists  to  the  one  port  of  Wilmington,  N.  C.,  from  Janu 
ary,  1863,  to  December,  1864,  amounted  to  $66,000,000. 
What,  meanwhile,  was  the  extent  of  trade  between  Wil 
mington  and  other  Southern  ports  with  New  York,  Phila 
delphia,  and  Baltimore  capitalists  is  not  known,  but 
probably  as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  with  English 
capitalists. 

Another   fact,  which  greatly  contributed  to  blockade 


RUNNING    THE    LAND    BLOCKADE.  37 

running  and  other  clandestine  trade,  was  that  all  through 
the  North  there  were  warm  sympathizers  with  the  South 
— some  of  whom  had  been  born  in  the  South,  others  had 
relatives  and  friends  there,  others  had  had  extensive 
business  relations  with  Southern  men,  and  still  others 
sympathized  with  the  South  from  a  political  standpoint — 
each  and  all  of  whom  were  ready  to  help  the  South  in 
any  way  they  could;  and  yet  to  save  themselves  from 
censure,  if  not  from  arrest,  felt  obliged  to  call  themselves 
"  Union  "  men.  These  men  were  everywhere,  and  often 
where  least  suspected. 

Kattell,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Great  Rebellion,"  in 
writing  of  the  difficulties  under  which  President  Lin 
coln's  administration  labored  for  the  first  few  months, 
says  :  "  The  diplomatic  corps  abroad  and  the  incumbents 
of  office  at  the  North  were  most  of  them  inclined  to 
thwart  the  action  of  the  new  administration,  and  in  their 
train  was  a  large  number  of  active  men  on  whom  the 
government  could  not  depend,  if  it  had  no  opposition  to 
encounter.  The  new  administration  found  itself  thus 
completely  in  the  power  of  the  secession  party,  and  all 
its  secrets,  from  the  cabinet  debates  to  the  details  of 
orders,  were  known  to  the  South.  The  bureaus  of  the 
departments,  the  judiciary,  the  army  and  navy,  and  the 
offices  were  all  filled  with  persons  who  were  eagerly 
watching  to  catch  up  and  transmit  every  item  of  informa 
tion  that  might  aid  the  Confederates,  or  thwart  the  gov 
ernment." 

The  above  is  true  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  is  only  a  very 
small  part  of  the  whole  truth — not  the  one  hundredth 
part  of  what  we  now  know  to  be  true,  some  parts  of  which 
will  be  told  in  the  following  pages. 

Macaulay's  description  of  the  condition  of  England, 
immediately  preceding  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Rys- 
wick,  portrays  the  condition  of  the  United  States  gov- 
4 


38  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

ernment  during  a  portion,  if  not  during  the  whole  time 
of  the  war,  quite  as  well  as  if  written  for  the  purpose. 
He  says :  "  Her  secret  enemies  had  commanded  her  fleets 
and  armies,  had  ministered  at  her  altars,  had  taught  at 
her  universities,  had  swarmed  in  her  public  offices,  had 
sat  in  her  Parliament,  had  bowed  and  fawned  in  the  bed 
chamber  of  her  King."  The  facts  and  incidents  hereafter 
to  be  related  will  show,  in  part,  and  would  show  wholly, 
if  all  were  told  that  is  known,  that  what  Macaulay  says 
of  the  condition  of  England  from  1689  to  1697,  was  no 
less  true  of  the  United  States  from  1861  to  1865.  Of 
course,  all  this  inured  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the  South 
ern  Confederacy,  but  was  as  greatly  detrimental  to  the 
United  States  government,  and  at  times  made  final  suc 
cess  seem  very  doubtful,  if  not  impossible. 


40 


CHAPTER    III. 

ESTABLISHING    STATIONS— FIRST    TRIP   AND    FIRST 
PASSENGERS. 

BRAINS   AND   CAUTION   SHIFTING   THE   SCENES. 

^PHE  battle  of  Gettysburg,  fought  on  the  2d  and 
1  3d  of  July,  1863,  was  one  of  the  most  important, 
if  not  the  most  important,  battle  of  the  whole  war.  The 
conflict  had  now  been  going  on  for  over  two  years  with 
varying  success.  Each  side  had  used  its  utmost  efforts 
for  success,  and  to  the  general  public  the  end  seemed  no 
nearer  than  in  the  beginning ;  but  those  behind  the 
scenes  saw  things  in  a  different  light,  and  especially  was 
this  true  of  President  Davis  and  his  cabinet.  While  he 
and  they  well  understood  the  advantages  of  keeping  up  a 
fair  outside  show,  they  knew  equally  well  that  the  pro 
portion  of  strength  had  greatly  changed  between  the 
North  and  the  South.  Commencing  with  proportions  of 
two  to  one  (20  to  10)  they  had  reached  the  proportions 
of  three  to  one  (15  to  5),  and  another  such  battle  as  that 
which  had  just  occurred — in  which  the  losses  on  both 
sides  were  immense,  and  in  which  both  sides  thought 
themselves  defeated,  and  were  making  preparations  for 
retreat  on  the  day  following — would  make  the  dispropor 
tion  still  greater. 

They  knew,  too,  that  every  day  made  their  situation 
more  and  more  desperate  ;  that  every  day  increased  the 
effectiveness  of  the  blockade;  that  food,  clothing,  and  all 
the  necessaries  of  life  were  every  day  becoming  scarcer; 
and  while  they  still  had  almost  any  quantity  of  cotton, 


42  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

they  knew  the  people  could  not  eat  that,  and  unless  some 
new  source  of  nutrition  for  the  Confederacy  could  be 
opened,  it  must  soon  succumb  from  mere  exhaustion. 
To  add  still  further  to  the  difficulty,  their  communication 
with  the  North  seemed  about  to  be  cut  off  entirely.  Up 
to  that  time  tfreir  letters  from  their  Northern  sympa 
thizers,  from  England,  and  from  other  parts  of  the  world, 
had  reached  them  through  blockade-runners,  mostly  by 
the  way  of  Nassau ;  but  the  recent  capture  of  some  of 
these  blockade-runners,  and  the  stricter  watch  now  kept 
.by  the  United  States  blockading  squadron,  made  this 
source  look  more  and  more  doubtful,  and  certainly  less 
and  less  reliable. 

Mr.  Davis,  when  United  States  Senator  and  when  Sec 
retary  of  War,  had  credit  for  brains  and  great  shrewdness; 
but  never  did  he  need  them  so  much  as  now,  and  as  "  ne 
cessity  is  the  mother  of  invention,"  the  fact  of  the  need 
called  forth  from  his  fertile  brain  a  plan  of  domestic 
diplomacy  which  would  have  done  credit  to  Pitt  in  his 
palmiest  days.  However  good  a  conception  or  plan  may 
be,  still  it  is  of  no  use  unless  it  can  be  put  into  execution, 
and  just  here  was  President  Davis's  greatest  trouble.  He 
had  scores  of  officers  about  him  ready  to  do  his  slightest 
bidding,  but  among  them  all  he  could  think  of  no  one 
exactly  fitted  for  the  kind  of  service  he  then  had  in  view. 
When  in  his  greatest  distress  of  mind,  walking  the  floor 
for  hours  at  a  time,  thinking,  thinking,  thinking,  it  hap 
pened  that  Colonel  Ralph  Abercrombie,  who  was  in  com 
mand  of  a  Louisiana  regiment  in  General  A.  P.  Hill's 
corps,  came  into  Richmond,  and,  as  was  his  custom,  called 
immediately  at  the  executive  mansion.  The  Colonel  had 
been  known  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  since. a  boy.  Mr. 
Davis,  when  Secretary  of  War,  had  appointed  him  to  a 
lieutenancy  in  the  regular  army.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davis  were  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with  his  wid- 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  43 

owed  mother,  and  though  the  Colonel  was  now  about 
thirty  years  of  age,  they  still  called  him  Ralph. 

When,  on  this  visit,  he  observed  the  President's  anxiety, 
he  naturally  inquired  the  cause,  and  soon  learned  from 
Mr.  Davis  the  outlines  of  his  plan.  The  Colonel  at  once 
offered  his  services  to  put  the  President's  plan  into  execu 
tion,  only  suggesting  that,  instead  of  opening  the  route 
to  Washington  via  Chesapeake  Bay  and  Leonardstown, 
Md.,  he  would  prefer  a  more  northern  route,  for  the  reason 
that  he  was  better  acquainted  with  the  Potomac  between 
the  Great  Falls  and  Cumberland  than  with  the  route  pro 
posed  by  President  Davis.  When  a  lad,  he  had  attended 
St.  James'  College,  near  Hagerstown,  Md.,  and,  by  fre 
quent  drives  through  the  country,  had  learned  every  foot 
of  ground  between  that  point  and  Washington  city. 

Mr.  Davis  listened  attentively,  and  when  the  Colonel 
had  finished,  he  quickly  replied  that  his  offer  of  services 
had  relieved  his  mind  of  a  great  anxiety ;  that  he  would 
accept  them  most  gladly ;  and  that  he  would  agree  to  any 
route  upon  which  the  Colonel  might  fix.  He  told  the 
Colonel,  in  addition,  that  he  would  appoint,  to  assist  him, 
any  one  whom  he  might  name,  and  that  in  opening  and 
establishing  the  route  he  could  employ  whoever  he 
pleased,  and  use  any  amount  of  funds  that  might  seem 
necessary,  as  the  project  involved  millions  of  money,  if 
not  the  very  life  of  the  Confederacy ;  and  that  the  few 
thousands  it  might  cost  would  only  be  as  dust  in  the 
balance,  as  compared  with  the  advantages  to  be  gained. 

Colonel  Abercrombie  immediately  turned  over  the  com 
mand  of  his  regiment  to  Major  Charles  Hall  (the  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel,  John  H.  Black,  being  on  sick  leave  from  a 
wound  received  at  Gettysburg),  and  entered  upon  the  duty 
of  opening  this  new  route  to  Washington.  From  Richmond 
to  Orange  Court-House  (General  Lee's  headquarters)  was 
by  rail,  and  involved  no  difficulty.  From  thence  to  the 


44      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Rapidan  River,  on  the  southerly  side  of  which  lay  the  Con 
federate  army,  and  on  the  northerly  side  the  Union  army, 
was  easy  enough ;  but  from  thence,  to  first  get  through 
the  Union  line  of  pickets,  and  then  traverse  about  seventy 
miles  of  country,  until  the  Potomac  was  reached  at  or 
near  the  Great  Falls,  about  twelve  miles  above  Washing 
ton,  was  the  tug  of  war.  To  establish  this  latter  part  of 
the  route  involved  the  employment  of  about  twenty  men 
— some  as  guides  from  point  to  point ;  some  to  furnish 
horses,  or  other  conveyances,  to  the  blockade-runners 
and  their  passenger  guests;  some  to  entertain  and  con 
ceal  them  whenever  they  came  that  way;  some  to  be  on 
the  constant  lookout,  and  pass  the  word  from  post  to 
post,  if  any  danger  threatened  the  blockade-runners  or 
any  of  their  employees ;  some  to  row  them  across  the 
Potomac,  and  meanwhile  keep  their  boats  concealed  from 
the  eyes  of  Union  troops  and  guards ;  and  others  to  pass 
them  through  safely  from  the  Great  Falls  to  Washington 
and  return.  The  men  so  employed  included  planters  or 
farmers,  doctors,  merchants,  and  day-laborers,  all  of  whom 
received  pay  for  their  services  from  the  Confederacy, 
through  the  hands  of  Colonel  Abercrombie  or  Colonel  Kill- 
gore.  Besides  these,  the  guides  had  under  pay  three  old 
negro  women,  at  whose  huts  they  stopped  and  concealed 
themselves  and  guests,  whenever  occasion  required.  At 
Great  Falls,  Messrs.  Garrett  &  Morse,  merchants,  were  the 
principal  agents.  Upon  them  depended  mainly  the  keep 
ing  open  of  the  line  from  that  point  to  Washington  city;  the 
crossing  of  the  Potomac  at  or  near  that  point;  and  to  see 
that  the  guides  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac  were 
always  ready  for  service.  At  Washington  city  the  grand 
depot,  or  end  of  the  line,  was  at  Ben  Beveridge's  saloon, 
and  the  "  Washington  House,"  kept  by  Ben's  mother,  at 
the  corner  of  Third  Street  and  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  Ben 
furnished  the  disguises  for  both  conductors  and  passengers 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  45 

on  this  line,  and  was  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping 
hand  in  any  way  in  which  his  services  could  be  made 
available.  His  first  advance  pay  for  services  was  two 
thousand  dollars  in  gold,  to  which  additions  were  made 
from  time  to  time  until  he  received  from  eight  thousand 
to  ten  thousand  dollars,  all  in  gold.  All  these  men  were 
in  entire  sympathy  with  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and 
nearly  all  offered  their  services  gratuitously  when  first 
spoken  to  on  the  subject  by  Colonel  Abercrombie  ;  but  his 
plan  was  to  bind  every  man  to  greater  faithfulness  by 
having  him  to  accept  pay  from  the  Confederacy,  and  hence 
he  would  not  accept  of  gratuitous  service  from  any  one. 
How  many  thousands  or  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  were 
distributed  by  Colonel  Abercrombie  and  Colonel  Kiilgore, 
for  the  Confederacy,  in  this  service,  we  are  unable  to  say, 
but  certainly  a  good  many.  It  took  about  six  weeks  of 
faithful  service  for  Colonel  Abercrombie  to  open  this  new 
line,  and,  when  completed,  he  returned  to  Richmond  and 
reported  to  President  Davis  that  the  line  was  now  ready 
for  business. 

Mr.  Davis  approved  of  all  that  had  been  done,  and 
asked  Colonel  Abercrombie  whom  he  would  have  as  an 
assistant.  The  Colonel  named  his  personal  friend,  Colonel 
Newton  Killgore,  who  was  then  on  detached  service  at 
Charleston,  S.  C.  Killgore  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point, 
and  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Topographical  Engineer  Corps, 
U.  S.  A.,  previous  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  He 
was  then  about  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  active,  ener 
getic,  wide-awake,  and  just  the  man,  as  Colonel  Abercrom 
bie  thought,  for  such  service.  Mr.  Davis  sent  for  him,  and 
after  explaining  the  kind  of  service  to  be  done,  placed 
him  upon  the  duty,  and  directed  him  to  hold  himself  in 
constant  readiness  for  orders,  which  he  did  from  that  time 
forth. 

The  first  service,  on  this  new  line,  required  by  Presideir 


46  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

Davis  of  Colonel  Abercrombie,  was  to  carry  eleven  letters 
to, and  open  personal  negotiations  with,  Major  Weightman, 
of  Washington;  George  Thomas,  John  P.  Grundy,  Alexan 
der  Gibson,  of  Baltimore ;  Dr.  Charles  Howell,  C.  C.  Pol 
lard,  George  J.  Platt,  of  Philadelphia;  Mr.  McLane,  Presi 
dent  of  the  New  York  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company, 
Mr.  Waddell,  of  the  same  company,  and  John  Lamb  and 
Alexander  Goldsmith,  brokers,  of  New  York  city. 

With  Major  Weightman  Mr.  Davis  had  been  on  most 
intimate  terms  of  friendship  for  many  years.  Both  were 
Mississippians,  both  had  been  in  the  Mexican  war,  where 
Major  Weightman  gained  considerable  notoriety,  was 
badly  wounded,  returned  home,  married  a  rich  lady  at 
Jackson,  Miss,  (a  Miss  Willowby),  resigned  his  commis 
sion  in  the  regular  army,  removed  to  Washington,  and  from 
thenceforth  lived  a  quiet,  retired  life  in  that  city.  When 
the  war  broke  out  between  the  North  and  South,  Major 
Weightman  still  continued  his  residence  in  Washington 
city,  and  soon  became  on  most  intimate  terms  with  Sec 
retary  Seward  and  President  Lincoln.  When  rallied  about 
his  position,  he  always  replied  that  he  was  "  a  Union  man," 
and  there  left  it.  His  word  was  regarded  as  law,  and  no 
one  questioned  him  further.  Meanwhile,  however,  all  his 
sympathies  were  with  the  South,  and  he  was  in  almost 
constant  communication  with  Mr.  Davis.  Through  him 
Mr.  Davis  first  learned  of  these  other  gentlemen  to  whom 
he  now  wrote,  and  with  some  of  whom  he  had,  after  learn 
ing  of  them,  kept  up  a  correspondence.  Mr.  Davis  now 
wanted  arms,  provisions,  clothing,  while  these  gentlemen, 
he  knew,  wanted  cotton,  and  the  object  of  the  present 
letters  and  negotiations  was  to  exchange  the  one  for  the 
other — to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Confederacy,  and 
with  immense  profit  to  those  who  might  take  part  in  the 
speculation.  The  Confederacy  had  taken  in  exchange  for 
bonds,  had  taken  for  taxes,  and  had  otherwise  become  in 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  4/ 

possession  of  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
cotton.  The  gentlemen  to  whom  these  letters  were  ad 
dressed  possessed,  or  could  control,  millions  upon  millions 
of  dollars  in  money,  and  with  this  money  could  purchase 
what  the  South  then  stood  so  much  in  need  of — arms, 
food,  and  clothing.  The  cotton  was  greatly  needed  by 
American  and  English  manufacturers,  and  could  be  sold 
at  a  price  five  times  greater  than  Mr.  Davis  would  sell  it 
to  them  for.  On  the  goods  which  they  would  exchange 
for  the  cotton,  immense  profits  could  be  made.  The  only 
difficulty  was  in  getting  the  cotton  out  of  the  Confederacy, 
or  in  securing  it  from  destruction  while  it  had  to  remain 
there.  To  effect  this  they  must  either  run  the  blockade, 
or  so  cajole  President  Lincoln,  his  cabinet,  and  his  gen 
erals  in  the  field  as  to  secure  the  cotton  whenever  the 
Union  armies  reached  the  places  where  the  cotton  was 
deposited.  The  risk  in  all  this  was  considerable,  but  the 
immense  profits  to  be  gained  far  more  than  overbalanced 
the  risks. 

On  reaching  Washington,  Colonel  Abercrombie  went 
directly  to  the  house  of  Major  Weightman.  The  two 
soon  after  met  at  Ben  Beveridge's,  and  then  and  there 
negotiated  for  a  suite  of  rooms  in  the  "Washington 
House,"  to  be  all  the  time  kept  for  the  agents  of,  and  all 
the  while  paid  for  by,  the  Southern  Confederacy.  An 
order  for  two  thousand  dollars  in  gold  was  handed  Ben 
Beveridge  at  once,  as  an  earnest  of  what  he  might  expect 
if  he  proved  faithful  and  true.  Three  days  after,  Major 
Weightman  and  Colonel  Abercrombie  went  to  Baltimore 
to  call  upon  Mr.  George  Thomas.  After  the  delivery  of 
President  Davis's  letter,  and  a  general  talk  over  the  mat 
ters  to  which  the  letter  referred,  Mr.  Thomas  concluded 
to  call  together  a  few  well  known  Southern  sympathizers 
at  a  dinner-party  next  day,  when  and  where  the  whole 
subject  could  be  thoroughly  canvassed.  The  dinner  came 


48      SECRETS  OF  THE.  LATE  REBELLION. 

off  next  day,  as  proposed,  and  around  the  table  were  gath 
ered  the  following  well-known  gentlemen :  Mr.  George 
Thomas,  John  P.  Grundy,  Dr.  Leslie  Buckler,  Alexander 
R.  Gibson,  Major  Weightman,  Colonel  Abercrombie,  James 
Wilson,  J.  W.  Jenkins.  The  result  of  this  conference  was 
entirely  in  favor  of  President- Davis's  wishes. 

Next  day  Major  Weightman  and  Colonel  Abercrombie, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  James  Wilson,  went  to  Philadelphia, 
and  called  at  once  upon  Dr.  Charles  Howell,  then  living 
on  Rittenhouse  Square.  After  delivery  of  letters  and 
talking  over  matters  somewhat,  Dr.  Howell,  like  Mr. 
Thomas,  decided  to  call  together  at  a  dinner-party  next 
day  a  few  well-known  Southern  sympathizers,  when  and 
where  the  whole  subject  could  be  thoroughly  discussed. 
This  was  done,  and  the  following  gentlemen  were  present: 
Dr.  Charles  Howell,  C.  C.  Pollard,  George  J.  Platt,  Philip 
Swift,  Charles  H.  Mason,  Jacob  Florence,  Major  Weight 
man,  Colonel  Abercrombie,  and  Messrs  McLane,  Lamb, 
and  Waddell,  of  the  New  York  Pacific  Mail  Steamship 
Co.,  who  had  been  invited  by  telegraph.  Here,  too,  the 
result  of  the  conference  was  entirely  favorable  to  Mr. 
Davis's  wishes ;  but,  before  a  final  conclusion  of  the  ne 
gotiations,  it  was  deemed  best  that  Messrs  Lamb  and 
Waddell  should  accompany  Colonel  Abercrombie  back  to 
Richmond,  see  President  Davis  personally,  take  a  general 
trip  through  the  Confederate  States,  and,  on  their  return, 
report  to  an  adjourned  meeting.  Meanwhile,  whatever 
funds  Mr.  Davis  might  need  should  be  furnished  Major 
Weightman,  to  be  deposited  by  him  with  Mr.  Riggs,  the 
banker  at  Washington,  to  the  credit  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy. 

These  arrangements  were  all  satisfactory  to  Colonel 
Abercrombie  except  the  piloting  of  Messrs.  Lamb  and 
Waddell  through  the  Union  lines  to  Richmond.  This, 
he  feared,  would  be  a  difficult,  if  not  an  impossible,  task. 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  49 

While  he  recognized  the  fact  that  both  these  gentlemen 
might  sit  in  their  Wall  Street  banking-offices  with  all  the 
dignity  of  a  Sir  Josiah  Child,  or  grace  a  lady's  parlor 
with  all  the  urbanity  of  a  Lord  Chesterfield,  yet  he 
feared  that  when  disguised  as  farmers  or  day-laborers, 
when  required  to  tug  along  on  foot  for  several  miles  at  a 
time,  and  then  ride,  pell-mell,  on  horseback  for  a  score 
of  miles  at  a  time ;  when  compelled  to  sleep  in  garrets  or 
in  the  loft  of  a  negro-hut ;  when  required  to  prevaricate, 
or  even  to*  lie,  in  order  to  get  by  a  Union  sentinel,  they 
might  not  be  quite  equal  to  the  occasion.  The  Colonel 
tried  to  persuade  them  to  go  by  the  way  of  Nassau,  and 
from  there  run  the  blockade  into  Charleston,  as  he  him 
self  had  done  when  he  first  entered  the  Confederate 
States ;  but  the  more  he  tried  to  persuade  them  to  this 
course,  the  more  determined  they  were  to  go  with  him. 
Over  the  difficulties  and  hardships  mentioned  by  the 
Colonel,  they  only  laughed,  said  they  could  stand  it  all, 
that  it  would  be  as  holiday- sport  to  them,  and  that,  in  a 
day  or  two,  both  would  meet  the  Colonel  at  Ben  Bever- 
idge's,  in  Washington,  and  from  thence  make  their  way 
with  him  to  Richmond. 

The  third  day  after,  Messrs.  Lamb  and  Waddell  were 
in  Washington,  and  that  night,  between  eleven  and  twelve 
o'clock,  left  Beveridge's,  en  route  for  Richmond.  Ben  and 
Weightman  accompanied  them  to  a  Mr.  Thecker's  house, 
in  Georgetown,  where  the  disguises  were  to  be  put  on. 
Lamb  first  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  manipu 
lators.  He  had  been  wearing  long  chin  whiskers ;  these 
Ben  cut  off  at  one  fell  swoop,  leaving  his  face  as  bare  as 
a  child's.  Next,  his  hair  was  nicked  and  chopped  over, 
as  if  done  with  a  pair  of  sheep-shears,  in  the  hands  of  a 
country  bumpkin,  instead  of  by  a  Broadway  barber.  Then 
he  was  stripped  of  his  latest-fashioned  coat,  vest,  and 
pants,  and  in  their  place  was  supplied  with  a  suit  which 
5  D 


5O  SECRETS     OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

would  have  done  credit  to  an  ox-team  driver.  Waddell 
came  next.  His  magnificent  beard,  covering  his  entire  face, 
was  cut  clean  off,  and,  in  place  thereof,  two  false  "  mutton- 
chop  "  side  whiskers  and  a  false  moustache,  both  butter 
nut-color,  were  put  on  his  face.  Next,  Ben  applied  the 
shears  to  Waddell's  head,  and  pretty  soon  his  hair  pre 
sented  the  appearance  of  a  country  ox  driver's.  Then 
he,  too,  was  stripped  of  his  Broadway  suit,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  transmogrified  into  a  fat,  jolly  farmer,  or  a  Cones- 
toga  team-driver.  The  Colonel  was  already  itj  disguise, 
and  had  been  ever  since  he  left  his  uniform  at  Mr.  Joseph 
Mix's,  about  eleven  miles  within  the  Confederate  lines, 
and  now  it  only  required  a  little  touching  up,  which  the 
Colonel  did  for  himself  while  the  others  were  laughing 
over  their  own  outlandish  appearance. 

About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  all  were  ready  for  a 
start.  Ben  consented  to  go  along  until  the  first  guard 
was  passed — Major  Weightman  to  wait  at  Thecker's  un 
til  Ben  returned.  It  was  the  latter  part  of  August,  1863, 
and  the  nights,  just  then,  were  not  only  very  warm,  but 
very  dark.  Ben  led  the  way,  Lamb  and  Waddell  fol 
lowed,  and  the  Colonel  served  as  rear-guard.  When  Ben, 
who  was  several  hundred  yards  in  advance,  reached  the 
canal-lock,  near  which  a  guard  was  stationed,  he  played 
the  drunkard,  and  cursed  the  lock-tender  loud  enough 
for  the  guard  to  hear.  The  lock-tender  was  one  of  the 
Colonel's  men,  and  in  the  pay  of  the  Confederacy.  He 
knew  Ben's  voice,  and  knew,  too,  that  the  Colonel  was 
not  far  off.  Ben  told  the  lock-tender,  in  a  voice  loud 
enough  for  the  guard  to  hear,  that  he  had  plenty  of 
whiskey  and  plenty  of  cigars  in  his  pockets,  and  wondered 
if  the  guard  would  n't  like  some.  The  lock-tender  thought 
it  probable,  whereupon  Ben  staggered  off  towards  the 
guard,  flourishing  a  bottle  of  whiskey  as  he  went,  and  cry 
ing  out  to  the  guard,  "Don't  shoot !  Don't  shoot !  "  The 


PICKET-DUTY  DURING  THE  WAR. 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  53 

bait  took.  The  guard  gave  no  challenge — allowed  Ben 
to  approach  him — took  a  good  swig  of  whiskey  from  Ben's 
bottle — lit  a  cigar  which  Ben  had  handed  him — entered  into 
a  rip-raving-swearing  conversation  with  Ben ;  and,  while 
all  this  was  going  on,  the  Colonel  and  his  guests  slipped 
quietly  by,  and  were  a  good  half-mile  beyond  the  guard 
before  Ben  bade  him  good-night. 

A  further  walk  on  the  tow-path  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  canal,  for  over  two  miles,  brought  the  three  travel 
lers  to  Widow  Ennis's  farm-  and  lock-house.    She  was  in 
the  pay  of  the  Confederacy ;  and  within  a  half-hour  from 
the  time  of  reaching  there,  the  three  travellers  were  in  the 
saddle,  and,  accompanied  by  her  son,  to  bring  the  horses 
back,  on  their  way  to  the  Great  Falls.    They  rode  along  at 
a  brisk  trot,  and  part  of  the  time  the  New  York  gentlemen 
were  nearer  the  ears  than  the  tails  of  their  horses,  never 
theless  they  managed  to  hold  on,  and,  after  a  ride  of  nine 
miles,  reached  Hendrickson's,  about  a  half-mile  from  the 
Falls.     Here  they  dismounted.     Joseph  took  the  horses 
back  to  his  mother's  stable,  while  our  three  travellers 
walked  on,  about  one  mile,  until  they  reached  the  garden- 
fence  in  the  rear  of  the  hotel,  which  they  clambered  over, 
or  through,  and  finally  got  into  the  back-building  of  the 
hotel,  through  a  private  door.     The  Colonel  knew  all  the 
points,  and  Lamb  and  Waddell  had  only  to  follow  him  to 
secure  themselves  and  him  from  observance  by  the  Union 
sentinel,  whose  station  was  but  a  little  way  from  the  front 
of  the  hotel.     At  Hendrickson's  they  left  the  main  road, 
and  followed  a  by-path  until  they  reached  the  garden  in 
the  rear  of  the  hotel.     In  creeping  through  the  garden- 
fence,  Waddell  tore  his  coat  badly  about  the  shoulder, 
which  distressed  him  not  a  little,  and  for  which  he  was 
heartily  laughed  at  by  his  companions.     Mr.  Morse,  who 
kept  the  hotel,  was  soon  with  his  back-door  customers, 
5* 


54      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  certainly  no  guests  ever  received  a  more  hearty  wel 
come. 

Great  Falls,  it  may  here  be  said,  once  for  all,  is  neither 
a  town  nor  a  village;  but  consists  of  a  large  three-story 
stone  building,  used  as  a  hotel  for  summer  visitors,  and  as 
a  private  residence  in  the  winter,  and  a  large  store-build 
ing,  with  numerous  out-houses,  used  for  transportation 
purposes — all  of  which  belong  to  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Canal  Company ;  but  were  at  this  time  rented,  and 
the  business  carried  on  by  Messrs.  Garrett  &  Morse,  the 
former  of  whom  gave  more  especial  attention  to  the  store, 
and  the  latter  to  the  hotel.  Both  were  Marylanders ;  both 
sympathized  heartily  with  the  Southern  cause,  though 
nominally  "strong  Union  men;"  both  were  under  the  pay 
of  the  Confederacy ;  and  both,  or  as  a  firm,  received  from 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  at  different  times,  through  the 
hands  of  Colonels  Abercrombie  and  Killgore,  sums  in  gold 
amounting  to  between  six  and  eight  thousand  dollars. 
Both  were  first-class  business  men,  of  high  character, 
and,  from  their  love  of  the  Southern  cause,  would,  doubt 
less,  have  rendered  it  all  the  aid  they  could  had  they  not 
received  one  cent  of  pay ;  but  such  was  not  the  policy  of 
President  Davis  or  his  agents.  They  insisted  that  all  who 
aided  should  be  paid,  and  so  long  as  cotton  could  be  con 
verted  into  gold,  this  was  possible,  and  certainly  the  true 
policy. 

It  was  now  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but  the 
Colonel  would  not  retire  until  he  had  sent  for,  and  con 
sulted  with,  Garrett,  as  to  future  movements.  From  him 
the  Colonel  learned  that  the  line  was  open,  and  in  good 
working  order,  that  guide  No.  I  would  be  on  hand  the 
next  night  to  row  them  across  the  Potomac,  and  conduct 
them  to  guide  No.  2,  and  that,  meanwhile,  all  three  should 
retire,  and  keep  themselves  entirely  out  of  sight  until  the 
following  night.  The  retiring  and  resting  part  suited 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  55 

Lamb  and  Waddell  exactly.  Both  were  thoroughly  tired 
from  their  long  walk  and  horseback  ride,  neither  being  at 
all  used  to  that  kind  of  exercise.  Lamb  was  then  about 
fifty,  Waddell  about  forty  years  of  age ;  the  first  was  lean, 
the  latter  fat ;  both  knew  how  to  handle  gold  and  green 
backs,  but  neither  knew  how  to  handle  reins  or  sit  a  sad 
dle,  especially  when  on  the  back  of  a  rough  trotting 
country  farm-horse.  Their  feet  would  slip  through  the 
stirrups;  in  descending  hill,  they  would,  somehow  or 
other,  slip  from  their  saddles  towards  the  ears  of  their 
horses ;  and  in  going  up  hill  it  was  with  difficulty  they 
kept  from  slipping  off  their  saddles  towards  their  horses' 
tails.  They  knew  how  to  walk  Broadway  and  Wall 
Street  with  as  much  grace  as  a  French  dancing-master ; 
but  when  it  came  to  walking  on  the  tow-path  of  a  canal, 
to  creeping  through  garden-fences,  and  such  like  perform 
ances,  neither  of  them  could  do  it  half  as  well  as  a  country 
clod-hopper.  Bed!  rest!  of  course  they  were  ready  for 
bed  and  rest,  and  the  sooner  the  better ;  and,  suiting  the 
action  to  the  word,  both  were  soon  in  bed,  and  snoring 
away  for  dear  life. 

For  some  cause  or  other,  guide  No.  I  did  not  put  in  an 
appearance  next  night,  and  our  travellers  were  obliged  to 
keep  themselves  concealed  for  another  day.  The  follow 
ing  night,  however,  he  came,  and  between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock  the  three  slipped  out  of  the  back-door  of  the 
hotel,  made  their  way  to  the  boat,  which  was  in  waiting 
about  a  mile  up  the  Potomac,  were  rowed  across  by  the 
guide,  then  walked  about  a  mile  to  a  negro-hut,  and  then 
about  three  miles  more  to  a  farm-house.  Here  horses 
were  procured,  and  then  for  about  thirty  miles,  mostly 
through  private  lanes  and  pig-paths,  through  woods  and 
over  fields,  over  torn-down  fences  and  through  open  gates, 
they  trudged  along  until  they  reached  the  farm-house  of 
Dr.  Carrico.  It  was  now  nearly  daybreak,  and  our  trav- 


$6  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

ellers  were  thoroughly  tired  out.  The  Doctor,  who  was 
in  the  pay  of  the  Confederacy,  though  within  the  Union 
lines,  and  nominally  a  "  Union  man,"  received  the  travel 
lers  with  open  arms,  and  in  a  little  while  had  them  safely 
tucked  away  in  bed-chambers,  where  the  eye  of  no  chance 
Union  soldier  or  visitor  could  see  them. 

Here  they  remained  until  the  next  night.  Then  with 
a  new  guide  (guide  No.  2  having  returned  with  the  horses) 
they  left  Dr.  Carrico's  shortly  after  nightfall,  and,  upon 
horses  furnished  by  the  Doctor,  rode  about  thirty-two 
miles  to  the  farm  and  mill  of  Mr.  Henry  Budd.  In  this 
long  ride,  like  the  other,  most  of  the  way  had  to  be  made 
through  private  roads  and  pig-paths,  as  Union  forces  were 
in  all  that  country,  and  on  the  public  highways  there  was 
danger  of  meeting  Union  cavalry  or  infantry,  as  patrols 
or  sentinels,  at  any  moment.  It  was  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  when  they  reached  Budd's  mills.  Just 
before  reaching  there  our  travellers  dismounted,  and  the 
horses  were  slipped  into  Budd's  stable,  as  there  was  a  Union 
sentinel  at  this  mill  who  could  not  be  passed  on  horse 
back,  and  with  whom  some  diplomacy  had  to  be  used  to 
get  by  at  all.  To  effect  this,  the  Colonel,  Lamb,  and 
Waddell  approached  as  near  the  mill  as  possible,  and 
then  secreted  themselves,  while  the  guide  (No.  3)  went 
forward  to  interest  the  sentinel  in  conversation,  until 
they  could  slip  by.  The  guide  knew  everybody  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  fortunately,  knew  the  sentinel,  so  that 
with  lively  conversation,  and  an  occasional  drink  from  a 
well-filled  canteen,  he  soon  had  the  sentinel  so  engrossed 
that  the  three  travellers  stepped  across  the  mill-race, 
slipped  around  on  the  other  side  of  the  mill,  and  soon 
were  a  good  half-mile  beyond  the  sentinel.  Here  they 
waited  in  a  woods  for  their  guide  to  come  up.  He,  on 
the  plea  that  he  was  going  to  see  an  " uncle"  on  the  other 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  57 

side,  got  away  from  the  sentinel  erelong,  and  soon  after 
overtook  the  three  travellers. 

From  the  point  where  the  guide  rejoined  them,  all  four 
walked  to  the  farm-house  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Brisco,  about 
four  miles  from  Budd's  mill.  Here  a  Union  sentinel  had 
been  placed  as  a  safeguard,  while  easterly  and  westerly 
from  the  house,  sentinels  were  placed  only  a  little  way 
apart.  This  was  the  extreme  outer  line  of  the  Union 
army,  and  was  guarded,  of  course,  with  extra  vigilance. 
If  once  through  this  line  our  travellers  thenceforth  would 
be  within  the  lines  of  the  Confederate  army  and  entirely 
safe,  but  just  how  to  get  through  was  now  the  problem 
to  be  solved.  The  plan  resolved  upon  was  that  Colonel 
Abercrombie,  Lamb,  and  Waddell  should  remain  concealed 
some  distance  from  the  house,  while  the  guide  should  go 
forward  and  make  arrangements  with  the  sentinel  to  allow 
the  three  to  come  up  and  go  into  the  house  to  see  his 
"uncle,"  and  then,  while  he  interested  the  guard  with 
lively  conversation  and  occasional  drinks  of  whiskey,  the 
three  to  slip  out  of  the  back-door,  down  through  the 
garden,  over  a  meadow,  through  a  creek,  and  as  far  and 
as  fast  as  possible  in  the  pines  beyond.  The  plan  all 
worked  like  a  charm,  except  that  while  the  three  were 
making  their  way  from  the  house  the  sentinel  chanced 
to  observe  them.  He  at  once  asked  the  guide  what  it 
meant.  The  guide  replied  that  they  were  going  to  another 
neighbor's  house,  a  little  beyond,  to  see  about  some  corn, 
and  would  soon  return  to  remain  the  balance  of  the  night 
with  his  "  uncle."  The  sentinel  still  seemed  troubled  about 
having  let  the  three  men  pass  his  post,  and  the  guide,  see 
ing  this,  and  wanting  to  keep  in  the  good  graces  of  the 
Union  sentinel,  as  he  might  need  his  services  again,  slipped 
fifty  dollars  in  gold  (which  the  Colonel  had  handed  him 
for  the  purpose)  into  the  sentinel's  hand,  which  at  once 
eased  his  mind  and  made  everything  seem  exactly  right. 


58      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

From  this  point  the  three  travellers  walked  about  six 
miles  to  Mr.  Andrew  Mitchell's.  Here  they  procured 
horses,  mounted  at  once,  and  rode  thirteen  miles,  to  Mr. 
Walter  Randolph's,  near  a  railroad  station  called  China 
Grove,  about  ten  miles  north-easterly  from  Orange  Court- 
House.  Probably  no  three  travellers  ever  rejoiced  more 
over  the  completion  of  a  trip  than  these  three  on  reach 
ing  China  Grove  station.  They  were  now  among  friends, 
and  from  this  point  they  could  go  by  railroad  to  Rich 
mond.  The  Colonel  soon  doffed  his  disguise,  and  was 
again  in  the  uniform  he  had  left  there  when  on  his  way 
to  Washington.  Messrs.  Lamb  and  Waddell  could  not 
procure  new  suits  until  they  reached  Richmond,  and 
therefore  had  to  content  themselves  with  the  old  until 
then.  About  ten  o'clock  the  cars  came  along,  our  three 
travellers  jumped  aboard,  and  within  an  hour  were  at 
Orange  Court-House,  seated  around  the  best  breakfast 
that  mine  host  of  Freeman's  Hotel  could  get  up.  At 
two  P.  M.  they  took  the  cars  for  Richmond,  and  before 
nightfall  were  at  the  Spottsylvania  Hotel,  in  the  capital 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Next  morning  early,  Messrs.  Lamb  and  Waddell  were 
in  quest  of  new  suits,  which  they  obtained  from  a  ready- 
made  clothing-store,  not  far  from  the  hotel.  Next,  they 
went  to  Mowrey's  banking-house  to  exchange  some  of 
their  gold  for  Confederate  notes,  which  at  that  time  was 
exchangeable  at  the  rate  of  eight  dollars  in  Confederate 
notes  for  one  dollar  in  gold.  Then  they  returned  to  the 
hotel,  and  soon  after  were  introduced  to  President  Davis's 
private  secretary,  N.  Burton  Harris,  Esq.  He  took  them 
to  the  Executive  Mansion  and  introduced  them  to  Mr. 
Davis.  With  him  they  had  a  long  conference  on  busi 
ness  affairs,  after  which  he  introduced  them  to  and  put 
them  in  special  care  of  certain  prominent  gentlemen  at 
the  capital,  whose  duty  and  pleasure  it  would  be  to  give 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  59 

them  such  additional  information  as  they  might  need, 
and  accompany  them  to  such  other  cities  of  the  Confed 
eracy  as  they  might  desire  to  visit.  The  Colonel  called 
upon  the  President  the  same  evening,  made  a  full  report 
of  all  that  he  had  seen  and  heard  and  done  while  at  the 
North,  and  then  left  to  visit  his  regiment,  which  lay  near 
Gordonsville. 

Messrs.  Lamb  and  Waddell,  after  spending  a  few  more 
days  in  and  about  Richmond,  seeing  what  was  to  be  seen 
and  learning  what  was  to  be  learned,  left  for  Newbern, 
Wilmington,  Charleston,  Savannah,  Mobile,  and  other 
places  where  Confederate  cotton  was  in  store.  At  all 
these  points  they  found  immense  quantities  of  cotton, 
some  of  which  they  were  told  had  been  seven  years  gath 
ered,  and  held  meanwhile  for  better  prices.  At  each 
place  they  found  government  agents,  and  others,  who 
assured  them  that  the  cotton  could  be  got  through  the 
blockade,  if  they  only  had  ships  on  which  to  load  it. 

They  saw,  too,  at  every  place  they  visited,  a  determined 
spirit  on  the  part  of  the  people  never  to  give  over  the 
struggle,  until  their  separation  was  achieved.  Of  course 
they  did  not  see,  and  great  care  was  taken  that  they 
should  not  see,  anything  like  destitution  among  the 
people.  The  tables  which  they  saw  were  all  well  spread, 
though  it  took  the  last  loaf  of  bread. from  the  pantry  or 
the  last  pickle  from  the  jar.  It  was  a  part  of  the  mas 
terly  diplomacy  of  President  Davis,  and  of  those  who 
surrounded  and  upheld  his  hands,  never  to  show  a  want, 
or  cry  peccavi,  where  a  Northern  ear  could  see  the  one  or 
hear  the  other.  "  Not  one  cent  for  tribute,  but  millions 
for  defence,"  was  their  cry  from  first  to  last, — was  their 
cry,  indeed,  until,  when  the  egg  was  finally  broken, 
nothing  was  found  but  an  empty  shell. 

Having  finished  their  journey  through  the  States  of  the 
Confederacy,  occupying  between  two  and  three  weeks, 


60  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

Messrs  Lamb  and  Waddell  returned  to  Richmond  and 
reported  to  President  Davis  that  they  were  entirely  sat 
isfied  with  what  they  had  seen  and  heard,  and  that,  so 
soon  as  they  could  report  the  facts  to  Messrs  McLane, 
Thomas,  Howell,  and  others,  there  would  be  no  difficulty 
whatever  in  his  obtaining  all  the  money  and  all  the  sup 
plies  he  might  at  any  time  need  in  exchange  for  cotton. 
Colonel  Abercrombie  was  then  telegraphed  for,  and  on 
the  day  following  reported  at  the  Executive  Mansion. 
From  <he  President  he  received  full  instructions  as  to 
further  operations.  He  then  informed  Messrs  Lamb  and 
Waddell  that  he  was  now  ready  to  conduct  them  back  to 
Washington.  Next  day  they  started  by  rail  for  China 
Grove  station.  Here,  at  Mr.  Randolph's,  they  exchanged 
uniform  and  fashionable  suits  for  their  former  disguises, 
and  from  thence  traversed  about  the  same  route,  rode  and 
walked  about  the  same  distances,  met  with  about  the  same 
incidents  as  when  on  the  outward  trip,  until  they  finally 
reached  Ben  Beveridge's  in  Washington  city.  Here  they 
met  Major  Weightman  and  informed  him  of  all  they  had 
seen  and  learned.  Then  on  to  Baltimore,  where  they 
called  upon,  and  reported  to,  Mr.  Thomas  and  his  asso 
ciates.  From  this  point  the  Colonel  returned  to  Wash 
ington,  while  Messrs  Lamb  and  Waddell  went  on  to  Phil 
adelphia,  where  they  reported  to  Dr.  Howell  and  his  as 
sociates  ;  and  then  to  New  York,  where  they  reported  to 
Mr.  McLane  and  others.  All  to  whom  they  reported 
expressed  entire  satisfaction  as  to  the  result  of  their  trip, 
and  were  ready  to  invest  in  the  enterprise  to  the  extent 
of  their  means.  Not  long  after,  a  general  meeting  of  all 
the  "  cotton  ring  "  associates  was  held  at  Dr.  Howell's,  in 
Philadelphia,  when  plans  were  perfected  to  charter  or 
purchase  ships  to  send  to  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  to 
be  freighted  with  needed  articles  outward  and  cotton  in 
ward.  It  so  happened  that  three  of  their  vessels  were 


ESTABLISHING    STATIONS.  6l 

seized  by  the  blockading  squadron,  not  many  weeks  after, 
and  this  for  a  time  threw  a  cloud  over  their  enterprise ; 
but  so  soon  as  the  loss  was  reported  to  Mr.  Davis  he  gave 
them  enough  additional  cotton  to  make  up  for  the  loss 
of  the  three  vessels  and  their  cargoes.  From  thenceforth 
they  met  with  but  few,  if  any,  losses,  though  they  con 
tinued  operations,  at  various  points  along  the  coast,  until 
the  fall  of  Fort  Fisher,  on  the  1 5th  of  January,  1865. 
How  much  the  "ring"  made  in  their  cotton  operations 
it  would  be  impossible  to  say ;  but  we  have  it  from  an 
intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Gilmore  Meredith's,  of  Baltimore, 
that  his  share  of  the  profits  amounted  to  a  "  million  of 
money,"  and  if  his  share  reached  that  amount,  others, 
whose  investments  were  far  greater,  must  have  reaped 
still  larger  amounts. 

This  cotton  ring,  made  up  of  the  gentlemen  whom  we 
have  heretofore  named  as  seated  around  the  dinner-tables 
of  Messrs.  Thomas  and  Howell  (besides  Messrs.  Gilmore 
Meredith,  of  Baltimore,  Samuel  Harding,  Alphonso  Lip- 
pincott,  and  Alexander  Goldsmith,  of  New  York),  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  one,  or  more,  mentioned  by 
General  L.  C.  Baker,  chief  of  the  national  detective  po 
lice,  in  his  letter  of  January  30,  1865,  to  Hon.  E.  B.  Wash- 
burne,  chairman  of  committee  on  commerce,  in  which  the 
names  of  Thurlow  Weed,  Ward  Lamon,  Leonard  I.  Sweat, 
Wm.  P.  Dole,  D.  Randolph  Martin,  B.  F.  Camp,  Prescott 
Smith,  A.  H.  Lazare,  H.  A.  Risley,  T.  C.  Durant,  Samuel 
Norris,  and  Simeon  Draper,  occur  as  playing  principal 
parts. 

These  last  named  gentlemen  were  nearly  all  avowed 
Republicans,  and  several  of  them  personal  and  intimate 
friends  of  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Seward.  The 
others  were  mostly  avowed  Southern  sympathizers  (though 
nominally  "  Union  men  "),  and  some  of  them  had  long 
known,  and  been  on  most  intimate  personal  terms  with, 
6 


62  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

President  Davis,  besides  having  friends  and  relatives  scat 
tered  all  over  the  South.  The  one  had  no  object  but  to 
make  the  almighty  dollar.  The  other  had  friendship,  as 
well  as  the  almighty  dollar,  as  a  basis  for  action.  Which 
of  the  two  is  most  to  be  commended,  or  most  to  be  con 
demned,  each  reader  must  decide  for  himself. 

And  before  closing  this  chapter  we  again  beg  to  say — 
as  stated  in  the  introductory  chapter — that,  while  vouch 
ing  for  facts,  we  cannot  in  every  instance  vouch  for  the 
names  and  dates  given  throughout  this  volume.  Our  in 
formants  in  every  case  meant  to  give  us  exact  names  and 
exact  dates ;  but  the  many  years  elapsing  between  the 
events  and  the  relating  of  them  to  us,  had  caused  a  par 
tial  forgetting  of  names  and  dates,  although  the  incidents 
remained  as  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  relators  as  though 
they  had  occurred  but  the  day  before.  In  second  and  all 
subsequent  editions  of  this  work,  these  errors  (if  such 
there  be)  will  stand  corrected,  for  so  soon  as  this  work 
gets  before  the  public,  errors,  if  any  there  be,  will  doubt 
less  be  observed  and  corrected  by  such  as  were,  or  are, 
cognizant  of  the  facts.  The  author  most  earnestly  invites 
such  corrections,  or  any  others  that  may  be  found  in  the 
work,  as  his  aim  from  the  first  has  been  to  "set  down 
naught  in  malice,"  nor  to  say  anything  of  anybody,  or  in 
the  relating  of  any  event,  but  what  is  strictly  true. 


64 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ANOTHER   CONDUCTOR    ON  THE  NEW  LINE. 
CAUTION   SLIDING  THE   SCENES. 

IN  the  preceding  chapter,  mention  is  made  of  the  fact 
that  President  Davis  placed  Colonel  Newton  Killgore 
on  this  same  service ;  and  in  the  same  paragraph  a  brief 
account  is  given  of  his  accomplishments,  and  the  position 
he  held  in  the  United  States  army  previous  to  the  war. 
In  this  chapter  we  purpose  to  give  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
his  services  as  conductor  on  this  new  line,  for  running  the 
land  blockade. 

Not  long  after  the  time  when  Colonel  Abercrombie  had 
started  on  his  first  trip  for  Washington,  President  Davis 
sent  for  Colonel  Killgore,  and  desired  him  to  carry  an 
order  for  arms  and  ammunition  to  Major  Weightman,  of 
Washington.  He  was  directed,  however,  to  await,  at 
China  Grove  station,  Colonel  Abercrombie's  return  to 
that  point,  and  then  to  go  on  or  return  to  Richmond, 
according  as  the  negotiation  of  Colonel  Abercrombie  had 
been  successful  or  otherwise.  Accordingly,  when  Messrs. 
Abercrombie,  Lamb,  and  Waddell  reached  Mr.  Randolph's, 
they  found  Colonel  Killgore  awaiting  them.  A  consulta 
tion  resulted  in  sending  him  forward  on  his  mission  with 
all  convenient  speed. 

His  general  route  was  the  same  as  that  over  which  our 
three  travellers  had  just  passed ;  his  stopping  places  the 
same ;  his  guides  the  same ;  and  in  due  time  he  found 
himself  in  the  rooms  of  the  Confederacy  at  Ben  Bever- 
idge's.  Ben  sent  for  Major  Weightman.  To  him  Col- 
6*  E  65 


66  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

onel  Killgore  delivered  his  orders,  letters,  and  verbal  mes 
sages  ;  received  from  the  Major  whatever  of  information 
and  messages  he  had  to  send  to  President  Davis,  and 
within  six  hours  was  ready  to  start  on  his  return  trip  for 
Richmond.  He  returned  as  he  went,  and  within  five  days 
from  the  time  of  leaving  Washington  stood  in  the  pres 
ence  of  Mr.  Davis,  ready  to  give  an  account  of  his  mis 
sion.  Everything  had  been  done  to  the  entire  satisfac 
tion  of  the  President,  and  the  Colonel  was  directed  to 
hold  himself  in  constant  readiness  for  like  orders. 

After  this,  Colonel  Killgore  made  frequent  trips  between 
Richmond  and  Washington.  Of  course  he  wore  a  dis 
guise,  and  acted  the  part  of  a  green  country  bumpkin : 
and  so  well  did  he  wear  the  one,  and  assume  the  other, 
that  never,  but  on  two  occasions,  did  he  meet  with  inci 
dents  worthy  of  special  record. 

The  first  of  these  occurred  as  follows  :  After  delivering 
messages  and  documents  to  Major  Weightman,  he  pro 
ceeded  to  Baltimore,  to  deliver  others  to  Mr.  Thomas. 
While  at  the  Fountain  Hotel  it  chanced  that  his  false 
moustache  became  loose,  or  somewhat  disarranged.  He 
stepped  before  a  mirror,  in  the  public  reading-room,  to 
readjust  it,  and,  while  doing  so,  observed  a  gentleman 
watching  him  very  closely.  Leaving  that  hotel  instantly, 
he  went  to  Barnum's,  but  was  scarcely  there  before  he 
noticed  the  same  gentleman,  who  had  watched  him  in 
the  other  hotel,  again  eyeing  him  closely.  Soon  the  gen 
tleman  stepped  up  to  him,  and  called  him  by  his  first 
name.  The  Colonel  immediately  recognized  him  as  an 
old  army  friend,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  many  years, 
and  whom  he  had  little  thought  to  meet  there,  and  under 
such  circumstances.  The  gentleman  was  a  Southerner ; 
recognized,  and  entirely  approved  of  the  Colonel's  new 
position  as  Ambassador  Extraordinary  between  high  con 
tracting  parties ;  and  in  a  little  while  after  they  were 


ANOTHER    CONDUCTOR    ON    THE    NEW    LINE.      6/ 

drinking  the  health  of  each  other,  and  confusion  to  their 
enemies.  The  Colonel  at  first  feared  that  one  of  Baker's 
detectives  had  discovered  his  disguise  while  he  was  ar 
ranging  his  moustache,  as  before  related,  and  felt  not  a 
little  relieved  when  his  observer  turned  out  to  be  a  friend 
instead  of  an  enemy.  He  never  again  adjusted  his  false 
moustache  in  the  reading-room  of  a  hotel. 

The  other  incident  occurred  as  follows  :  He  had  been 
to  Washington,  and  was  on  his  return  to  Richmond. 
Crossing  the  Potomac,  at  a  point  above  the  Great  Falls, 
he  was  accosted  by  a  man  on  the  Virginia  side,  who 
wanted  to  know  where  he  had  come  from,  and  where  he 
was  going?  Colonel  Killgore  replied  that  he  lived  in 
Maryland,  not  far  from  the  Falls,  and  was  on  his  way  to 
visit  a  friend  on  the  Virginia  side.  Other  conversation 
followed,  until  the  Colonel  thought  his  questioner  was 
satisfied,  though  he  meanwhile  had  fully  made  up  his 
mind  that  his  questioner  was  none  other  than  one  of 
General  Baker's  secret  detectives.  The  Colonel  finally 
bade  his  questioner  good-bye,  and  started  to  leave,  when 
his  questioner  cried  out,  "  Stop !  I  believe  you  are  a  spy 
— you  are  my  prisoner !  "  "  No,  I  am  not !  "  answered 
Colonel  Killgore,  and  instantly  sent  a  bullet  whizzing 
into  the  brain  of  his  questioner.  The  man  fell,  and  died 
at  once.  An  examination  of  the  papers  upon  his  person 
proved  him  to  be,  as  the  Colonel  had  suspected,  one 
of  the  captains  of  General  Baker's  National  Detective 
force.  His  body  was  left  precisely  where  it  fell,  while 
Colonel  Killgore  proceeded  on  his  journey,  and  in  due 
time  arrived  in  Richmond.  When  the  body  of  the  cap 
tain  was  found,  some  days  after,  it  was  discovered  that 
a  bullet  had  pierced  his  brain  ;  but  it  was  not  known  then, 
nor,  except  to  a  very  few,  was  it  ever  known  afterwards, 
who  sent  it  there.  This  is  the  first  publication  of  the  real 
facts  of  the  case,  though  the  newspapers  of  the  time 


68  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

were  full  of  suppositions,  not  one  of  which  was  true,  or 
anywhere  near  true. 

Colonel  Killgore  continued  one  of  the  conductors  on 
this  line  until  the  line  was  closed.  After  the  war  he  re 
turned  to  Charleston,  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  prac 
tice,  and  when  last  heard  from  was  doing  a  large  and 
successful  business,  and  was  regarded  as  among  the  first 
men  of  the  State. 


70 


CHAPTER    V. 

NOBILITY  AFTER    THE  NUGGETS. 
DIPLOMACY   PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

IN  September,  1863,  cotton  was  quoted  in  New  York 
city  at  70  cents,  gold  at  $1.29.  The  first  indicated  the 
great  want  for  cotton  by  the  manufacturers  of  this  coun 
try,  of  England,  and  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  The 
second  indicated  the  want  of  confidence,  then  existing, 
among  the  moneyed  men  of  the  world  in  the  stability  of 
this  government. 

The  great  divorce  trial  then  going  on  in  the  court  of 
last  resort — the  Court  of  Arms — in  which  the  South,  as 
representing  the  wife,  was  complainant,  and  the  North,  as 
representing  the  husband,  was  defendant,  had  thus  far 
been  attended  with  varied  success.  In  the  first  contest, 
at  Fort  Sumter,  the  wife  spit  fire  at  the  husband,  and  the 
husband  quickly  succumbed.  In  the  second  contest,  at 
Bull  Run,  the  wife  flew  at  the  husband's  eyes  and  ears, 
and  he,  to  save  both,  ran  back  to  Washington.  In  the 
next,  General  Lyon,  on  behalf  of  the  father,  made  a  dash 
at  General  Price,  at  Booneville,  Mo.,  when  the  latter  sud 
denly  remembered  that  he  was  needed  elsewhere  and 
left  without  ceremony.  In  Western  Virginia,  General 
McClellan  sprang  for  the  scalp  of  General  Garnett,  when 
the  latter  concluded  that  some  point  nearer  Richmond 
would  be  more  healthy.  And  thus  the  trial  had  been 
dragging  its  slow  length  along,  sometimes  favorable  to  the 
complainant  and  sometimes  to  the  defendant,  up  to  the 
time  mentioned  at  the  opening  of  this  chapter. 


72  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

Meanwhile  the  children  on  both  sides  only  seemed  the 
more  determined  to  win  finally,  the  oftener  they  were  de 
feated  temporarily;  and  criminations  and  recriminations 
became  harsher  and  fiercer  on  both  sides.  The  children 
of  the  North  sided  with  the  father,  and  claimed  that  the 
letter  of  the  original  contract  must  be  kept ;  that  in  that 
contract  there  was  no  provision  for  divorce,  nor  was  it  ad 
missible  now.  The  children  of  the  South  sided  with  the 
mother,  and  claimed  that  the  father  had  ill-treated  the 
mother,  had  outgrown  the  mother,  because  of  advantages 
taken  of  her,  and  by  every  law,  human  and  divine,  she 
was  entitled  to  a  divorce.  The  children  of  the  North 
claimed  that  even  if  a  legal  divorce  was  possible,  an 
equitable  division  of  the  estate  was  impossible.  That  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  estate  had  been  purchased 
with  blood,  or  treasure,  or  both,  since  marriage,  and 
was  so  located  that  division  was  impossible ;  that  Texas, 
California,  and  New  Mexico  had  cost  thousands  of  lives 
and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars,  and 
could  not  now  be  divided ;  that  Louisiana  and  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River  had  cost  fifteen  millions 
of  dollars,  and  could  not  now  be  divided ;  that  Florida  had 
been  purchased  of  Spain  at  a  cost  of  six  million  dollars,  and 
that  it  had  cost  twenty-five  millions  more  to  get  the  Semi- 
nole  Indians  out  of  its  swamps,  and  that  it  could  not  now  be 
divided.  To  all  this  the  children  of  the  South  replied,  that 
not  only  what  the  mother  had  brought  to  the  estate,  but  all 
that  had  been  since  obtained,  contiguous  to  that  which  she 
had  before  marriage,  belonged  of  right  to  her  and  her 
alone,  and  that  they  would  maintain  her  in  this  right  against 
all  comers.  The  children  of  the  North  further  complained 
that  over  three  millions  of  the  children  of  the  common 
household  were  held  in  bondage  by  Southern  masters,  and 
that  they  must  be  liberated  ere  we  could  hope  to  have 
permanent  peace  at  home,  or  the  respect  of  nations 


NOBILITY    AFTER    THE    NUGGETS.  73 

abroad.  The  children  of  the  South  replied  that  those 
held  in  bondage  were  the  descendants  of  Ham,  whom  Noah, 
with  God's  approval,  assigned  to  perpetual  bondage  to 
the  sons  of  Shem  and  Japhet.  To  this  the  children  of 
the  North  replied  that  the  New  Dispensation  of  Christ, 
teaching  forgiveness  to  all,  kindness  to  all,  love  to  all, 
had  done  away  with  the  Old  Dispensation  of  "  an  eye  for 
an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth,"  and  that  the  command, 
"  Come  unto  me  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth,"  included  the 
black  man  no  less  than  the  white.  The  children  of  the 
South  replied  that  they  had  not  brought  slavery  into  the 
family,  nor  would  they  drive  it  out,  and  if  others  of  the 
household  attempted  to  do  so,  they  would  maintain  it; 
and  thus,  too,  this  question  stood  up  to  the  time  men 
tioned  in  the  opening  of  this  chapter. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  this  work  we  mentioned  the 
fact  that  among  the  first  acts  of  the  first  Confederate 
Congress  was  the  authorizing  of  a  loan  of  $15,000,000. 
Also,  the  fact  that,  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Con 
gress  at  Richmond,  President  Davis  stated  in  his  mes 
sage  that  "  $50,000,000  had  been  subscribed  in  cotton." 
In  neither  case  was  it  officially  stated  who  had  subscribed 
for  these  loans,  but  there  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  much 
the  larger  part  was  subscribed  by  British  capitalists. 
English  manufacturers  wanted  the  cotton ;  English  capi 
talists  wanted  a  profitable  investment  for  their  surplus 
funds;  the  sympathies  of  the  English  nobility  and  of  the 
upper  classes  generally  were  then  almost  wholly  with  the 
Southern  Confederacy ;  they  believed,  as  Europeans  gen 
erally  believed  then,  that  the  South  would  succeed  in  es 
tablishing  a  separate  government;  that,  whether  they 
succeeded  or  not,  the  English  government  would  so  far 
interfere  as  to  secure  the  getting  of  any  cotton  which 
English  manufacturers  and  English  capitalists  might  pur 
chase  of  the  Confederacy;  and,  under  all  these  circum- 
7 


74  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

stances,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  a  large  part  of  the 
sixty-five  millions  named  should  have  been  subscribed 
for  by  British  subjects ;  nor  is  it  surprising  that  after  they 
had  thus  subscribed,  and  in  some  cases  paid  their  money 
in  advance  by  cashing  Confederate  bonds,  they  should 
have  used  extraordinary  means — strange  and  eventful 
means — to  secure  the  cotton. 

Having  thus  made  the  frame  and  stretched  on  it  the 
canvas,  we  are  now  ready  to  paint  the  picture,  and,  when 
finished,  it  will,  we  think,  fully  justify  the  caption  given 
to  this  chapter,  "  NOBILITY  AFTER  THE  NUGGETS" — 
" Diplomacy  Prompting  the  Actors" 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  1863,  Lord  John  Brew- 
erton  arrived  in  the  city  of  New  York  direct  from  Lon 
don.  So  soon  as  the  steamer  in  which  he  came  arrived 
at  the  wharf,  he  directed  his  valet  to  have  his  baggage 
taken  to  the  Astor  House,  while  he,  taking  the  first  cab 
he  found  at  the  landing,  directed  the  driver  to  drive  him 
with  all  possible  speed  to  the  office  of  the  Pacific  Mail 
Steamship  Company,  88  Wall  Street.  On  reaching  the 
office  he  inquired  for  the  president  of  the  company,  Mr. 
Allan  McLane,  found  him  in,  and  for  the  next  two  hours 
was  closeted  with  him.  That  same  evening  Mr.  McLane 
called  upon  Lord  Brewerton  at  the  Astor  House,  dined 
with  him,  and  again  spent  several  hours  with  him  in  close 
and  confidential  conversation — mostly  with  regard  to  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 

The  two  following  days  Lord  Brewerton  spent  in  New 
York  attending  to  various  business  matters,  and  on  the 
third  day  he  and  Mr.  McLane  went  together  to  Baltimore. 
At  Philadelphia  Mr.  C.  C.  Pollard  joined  them.  At  Bal 
timore  they  met  Colonel  Ralph  Abercrombie,  who  chanced 
to  be  in  Washington  at  the  time,  and  who  had  been  tele 
graphed  for,  through  Major  Weightman,  to  meet  them  at 
Baltimore.  That  night  and  the  following  day  were  spent 


NOBILITY    AFTER    THE    NUGGETS.  75 

in  consultations  with  Messrs.  Thomas,  Grundy,  Wilson, 
and  others.  In  the  evening  McLane  and  Pollard  returned 
to  New  York,  while  Lord  Brewerton  and  Colonel  Aber- 
crombie  went  to  Washington.  They  walked  from  the 
depot  direct  to  Ben  Beveridge's,  where  a  scene  occurred 
which  is  difficult  to  put  upon  canvas — a  scene  much  easier 
imagined  than  described.  When  the  two  came  into  the 
saloon  Ben  was  absorbed  in  conversation  with  some  gen 
tlemen,  and  did  not  see  them  enter.  The  Colonel,  desir 
ing  to  attract  Ben's  attention  without  calling  upon  him 
self  the  attention  of  others,  stepped  up  to  the  bar  and 
asked  for  "  Bourben  whiskey,"  putting  special  emphasis 
on  the  word  BOURBEN,  as  this  was  the  Confederate  pass- 
^vord  which  had  been  agreed  upon  between  him  and  Ben. 
The  clerk  behind  the  bar  sat  a  bottle  of  Bourbon  whiskey 
upon  the  marble  counter  for  the  Colonel  to  help  himself; 
but  still  Ben  did  not  come  up,  and  kept  on  chatting  and 
laughing  with  his  friends.  The  Colonel,  determining  to 
attract  his  attention,  put  the  glass  to  his  lips,  and  then, 
with  an  oath  loud  enough  to  wake  the  dead,  smashed  the 
glass  into  a  thousand  pieces  on  the  marble  counter,  and 
declared  that  such  BOURBEN  as  that  was  not  fit  for  a 
dog  to  drink.  Of  course,  Ben  rushed  to  the  counter  to 
see  who  had  dared  commit  such  an  outrage  in  his  saloon ; 
the  Lord  shrank  back  aghast,  as  though  an  earthquake 
was  about  to  open  under  his  feet;  some  Indians  who 
chanced  to  be  in  the  saloon  at  the  time  became  very 
much  excited  and  seemed  about  to  raise  a  war-whoop, 
and,  for  a  moment,  confusion  worse  confounded  prevailed ; 
bat  so  soon  as  Ben  recognized  the  Colonel  he  compre 
hended  the  whole  situation,  acknowledged  that  his  clerk 
had  made  a  mistake  in  setting  out  some  other  bottle  than 
"  Bourben,"  made  a  thousand  apologies  for  the  mistake, 
and  then,  in  a  tone  as  mild  as  that  of  a  sucking-dove,  in 
vited  the  Colonel  and  his  friend  "  John  "  into  a  side  room, 


76  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

where  they  might  take  a  drink  alone  by  themselves.  The 
outsiders  had  been  completely  hoodwinked,  while  the  in 
siders  had  a  hearty  laugh  all  to  themselves  over  the  inci 
dent  and  its  happy  ending.  Major  Weightman  was  then 
sent  for,  and  when  he  came  he  and  Lord  Brewerton  had 
a  conference  of  some  hours.  When  this  had  ended,  a  cab 
was  called,  and  Lord  Brewerton  was  driven  direct  to  the 
residence  of  the  British  Minister,  Lord  Lyons,  while  the 
Colonel  was  driven  to  his  sister's  (Mrs.  Professor  Joseph 
H.  Saxton),  on  Capitol  Hill. 

Lord  Brewerton  remained  with  Lord  Lyons  some  days, 
and  then  returned  to  New  York,  with  the  expectation  of 
returning  at  once  to  England ;  but,  on  reaching  there,  he 
found  a  cablegram  awaiting  him  which  required  his  im 
mediate  return  to  Washington  to  see  Lord  Lyons,  and, 
if  possible,  to  make  his  way  from  thence  to  Richmond, 
to  see  President  Davis.  He  accordingly  returned  next 
day  to  Washington,  saw  the  British  Minister,  saw  Colonel 
Abercrombie,  and  finally  succeeded  in  making  arrange 
ments  with  the  latter  for  an  overland  trip  to  Richmond. 
The  Colonel  explained  to  him  the  hardships  which  he 
would  have  to  endure  in  making  the  trip  overland,  and 
tried  hard  to  persuade  him  to  return  to  New  York  and 
go  by  the  way  of  Nassau ;  but  Lord  Brewerton  insisted 
that  he  could  stand  the  hardships,  and  would  much  prefer 
it  to  a  trip  by  sea.  He  was  at  this  time  about  fifty  years 
of  age,  a  gentleman  of  high  mental  culture,  of  elegant 
manners,  had  spent  all  his  life  in  the  very  highest  walks 
of  society,  and  had  not  probably  ever  endured  one  hour 
of  real  hardship;  but  his  health  was  good,  and  he  thought 
he  would  rather  enjoy,  than  otherwise,  the  hardships  of 
which  the  Colonel  spoke.  At  all  events,  he  insisted  upon 
trying  it,  and  so  the  matter  was  finally  agreed  upon. 

Next  night,  about  ten  o'clock,  Major  Weightman  and 
Colonel  Abercrombie  left  Ben  Beveridge's  saloon  in  a 


NOBILITY    AFTEH    THE    NUGGETS.  77 

close  carriage ;  called  at  the  English  embassy  for  Lord 
Brewerton ;  then  on  to  Thecker's,  in  Georgetown,  where 
Ben  was  waiting  with  the  disguises.  Here,  under  Ben's 
skilful  hands,  Lord  Brewerton  underwent  a  complete 
transmogrification.  His  mutton-chop  whiskers  were  cut 
off;  his  hair  chipped  and  hacked  as  though  done  with  a 
broad-axe ;  his  fashionable  suit  laid  aside,  and  a  rough 
farmer's  suit  substituted;  in  place  of  his  fine  patent 
leather  boots,  a  pair  of  negro  clodhoppers  were  put  upon 
his  feet;  in  place  of  his  fine  beaver,  a  coarse  slouch  hat; 
all  of  which  my  lord  enjoyed  and  laughed  over  as  heartily 
as  the  others.  The  Colonel  being  in  disguise  already,  it 
only  took  a  rub  or  two  here,  and  a  scrape  or  two  there, 
to  make  him  ready  for  the  trip. 

By  midnight  all  were  ready.  As  before,  in  the  case  of 
Lamb  and  Waddell,  Ben  led  the  way,  and,  by  playing 
drunk,  and  treating  the  sentinel  with  whiskey  and  cigars, 
got  them  safely  by  the  first  post.  From  there  they 
walked  about  two  miles  to  Widow  Ennis'  farm-house; 
thence  rode  to  Hendrickson's,  nine  miles;  thence  walked 
to  the  Falls,  one  mile.  Here  Garrett  and  Morse  received 
them  with  open  arms,  and  furnished  such  refreshments  as 
were  needed.  Mrs.  Morse  seemed  specially  impressed  at 
the  presence  of  a  live  lord,  and  honored  the  occasion  by 
putting  on  her  best  silk  dress  before  coming  down-stairs 
to  be  introduced.  The  guide  was  in  waiting,  and  within 
two  hours  all  three  left  their  friends  to  cross  the  Potomac. 
To  reach  the  place  where  the  boat  for  crossing  had  been 
concealed  required  a  walk  of  about  two  miles;  and,  when 
across,  it  required  a  walk  of  another  mile  to  reach  the 
negro  hut  of  old  "Aunt  Rachel."  It  was  now  so  near 
daylight  that  the  Colonel  deemed  it  unsafe  to  go  further, 
so  that  all  that  day  the  three  remained  concealed  in  Aunt 
Rachel's  humble  quarters.  They  could  not  venture  out 
side  the  door  even  for  a  moment,  and  at  times  the  lore 
7* 


78  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

seemed  in  great  distress  at  such  close  confinement ;  but 
the  day  wore  away  at  last,  and  soon  after  nightfall  the 
three  walked  about  four  miles  to  Mr.  Francis  Latimer's. 
Here  the  Colonel  had  expected  to  get  saddle-horses,  as 
before,  but  the  horses  were  away,  and  nothing  remained 
in  the  shape  of  a  conveyance  but  an  old  mule,  blind  in 
one  eye,  and  a  two-wheel  dirt-cart.  After  some  consul 
tation  and  delay,  it  was  decided  to  take  these,  and  in  a 
little  while  after  the  blind  mule  and  two-wheeled  cart, 
with  an  old  darkey,  "  Uncle  Jarrett,"  as  driver,  stood 
before  the  door.  Some  straw  had  been  thrown  in  the 
cart,  on  which  our  travellers  might  lay ;  but  Mr.  Latimer 
thought  this  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  live  lord,  and  there 
fore  had  an  old  splint-bottom  chair  set  in  the  cart,  on 
which  the  lord  might  sit,  while  the  Colonel  could  lay 
upon  the  straw  at  his  side. 

The  night  was  very  dark,  besides  which  the  age  and 
blindness  of  the  mule  made  him  to  stumble  frequently. 
They  had  not  gone  half  a  mile  before  Lord  Brewerton 
found  that  his  seat  was  a  very  uncertain  and  a  very  un 
comfortable  one.  Down  would  go  one  of  the  wheels 
into  a  deep  rut.  "  Ha !  hi !  be  careful,  my  man  !  be 
careful !  What  a  bloody  road  this  is,  to  be  sure !  "  the 
lord  would  cry  out.  On  a  little  farther,  and  down  would 
go  the  other  wheel  into  a  deep  rut.  "  Ho  !  ha  !  hi !  here 
we  go  over,  to  be  sure !  Be  careful,  my  good  man ;  be 
careful !  Why,  Colonel,  I  never  saw  such  bloody  roads 
in  all  my  life.  Do  they  ever  work  them  ?  "  "  Yes,  some 
times,"  the  Colonel  replied,  as  sober  as  a  judge,  though 
almost  dying  from  suppressed  laughter.  Indeed  such 
a  scene  would  have  made  a  dog  laugh,  and  surely  the 
blind  old  mule  would  have  laughed  outright  could  he 
have  laughed  at  all.  The  Colonel,  lying  upon  the  straw 
on  the  bottom  of  the  cart,  felt  no  fear  at  all  when  it  sidled 
over;  but  Lord  Brewerton,  on  the  chair,  was  indeed  in 


NOBILITY    AFTER    THE    NUGGETS.  79 

danger  of  being  spilled  out  every  time  the  cart  made  a 
sudden  lurch.  A  little  farther  and  one  of  the  wheels 
strikes  and  passes  over  a  good  sized  stone.  "  Ha  !  hi ! 
he!  here  we  go  sure  this  time!  Be  careful,  my  dear 
man,  be  careful !  And  did  you  ever  see  such  a  bloody 
road  in  all  your  life,  Colonel  ?  Are  you  sure,  my  dear 
man,  that  you  are  in  the  road  ?  " 

"  Yes,  massa,  I  'se  sure.  I  knows 'em  well.  I'setrabelled 
dis  road  many  times,  massa,"  replied  old  Jarrett ;  and  then, 
turning  to  his  mule,  said,  "  Git  along,  Jack,  git  along !  Lift 
yer  feet  high,  Jack;  lift  yer  feet  high  !  Git  up,  git  along, 
Jack  !  "  And  thus  for  full  two  miles  they  trudged  along, 
the  lord  in  danger  every  five  minutes  of  being  thrown 
over  the  wheels,  and  calling  everything  "  bloody  !  bloody  ! 
bloody !"  while  the  Colonel  could  not  help  occasional 
outbursts  of  laughter,  though  all  the  while  trying  to  sup 
press  it,  out  of  respect  for  the  feelings  of  Lord  John. 

At  length  Lord  Brewerton's  patience  gave  way  entirely, 
when  he  seized  the  old  chair  and  hurled  it  from  the  cart, 
and  then  laid  down  in  the  straw  beside  the  Colonel.  The 
other  six  miles,  to  Wilson's  mill,  were  made  without  any 
incident  worthy  of  record. 

Old  Aunt  Rachel's  negro  hut  was  probably  the  first  in 
Virginia  that  ever  gave  shelter  for  a  whole  day  to  a  live 
lord ;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  live  lord  ever  rode 
behind  a  blinder  mule,  in  a  more  rickety  cart,  or  with  a 
safer  driver,  than  Lord  Brewerton  did  that  night.  To 
show  his  appreciation  of  treats  so  rare,  we  may  add,  that 
before  leaving  Aunt  Rachel  he  handed  her  two  twenty- 
dollar  gold  pieces,  and  before  bidding  Uncle  Jarrett  good 
bye,  he  made  him  happy  for  life  by  handing  him  five 
twenty-dollar  gold  pieces. 

44  God  bless  you,  massa,  God  bless  you ! "  was  all  the 
answer  either  of  them  could  make  to  such  unexpected 


8O  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

generosity ;  but  this,  to  one  whose  nature  was  nobler  than 
his  blood,  was  quite  sufficient. 

At  Wilson's  they  procured  horses,  and  rode  about  eight 
miles  to  a  grove.  There  they  dismounted,  as  it  was  danger 
ous  to  travel  the  public  road  farther,  and  sending  the  horses 
back  with  the  guide,  the  two  trudged  along  on  foot,  over 
fields  and  through  by-paths  for  about  five  miles,  until  they 
reached  Mr.  Joseph  Berry's.  Here  they  stayed  all  day,  and  at 
night  rode  on  horseback,  about  seventeen  miles,  to  Mr.  Fred 
erick  Hutchings.  At  this  farm-house  they  again  changed 
horses,  and  then  rode  six  miles  farther  to  Nathan  Allen's. 
Again  they  changed  horses,  and  then  rode  about  fifteen 
miles  to  Budd's  mill.  It  was  now  near  morning,  and  for 
the  balance  of  the  day  they  remained  concealed  in  Mr. 
Budd's  house.  When  night  came,  they  managed,  as  the 
Colonel  had  before,  to  pass  the  sentinel  at  the  mill,  and 
then  walked  four  miles  to  Mr.  Brisco's.  Here  they  ob 
tained  horses  and  rode  eleven  miles  to  Dr.  Charles  Worth- 
ington's.  Here  one  of  the  outside  Union  sentinels  was 
stationed.  The  guide  knew  him  personally,  and  slipped 
one  hundred  dollars  in  gold  into  his  hands.  The  sentinel 
became  suddenly  stone-blind,  and  our  travellers  passed 
by  without  difficulty.  They  were  now  within  the  Con 
federate  lines,  and  no  longer  in  fear  of  arrest.  After  a 
short  walk  they  procured  horses,  and  then  a  ride  of  nine 
teen  miles  brought  them  to  Randolph's,  at  China  Grove 
station.  This  route,  it  will  be  seen,  varied  some  little 
from  that  taken  by  Messrs.  Lamb  and  Waddell.  A  change 
of  Union  troops  and  sentinel-stations  made  a  change  of 
route  sometimes  necessary.  The  conductors  of  the  line, 
Colonels  Abercrombie  and  Killgore,  had  no  less  than 
five  different  points  at  which  they  crossed  the  Potomac, 
and  at  each  point,  look-outs  and  guides  were  all  the  while 
in  waiting  and  all  the  while  in  the  pay  of  the  Confederacy. 

At   Randolph's,   Colonel   Abercrombie   laid   aside   his 


NOBILITY    AFTER    THE    NUGGETS.  8l 

disguise  and  again  assumed  his  uniform ;  Lord  Brewerton 
brushed  up  as  best  he  could ;  both  took  seats  in  the  next 
passing  train ;  and  in  a  few  hours  thereafter  were  at  the 
Ballard  House,  in  Richmond.  No  sooner  was  Lord 
Brewerton  in  his  bed-chamber  than  he  kneeled  (inviting 
the  Colonel  to  do  the  same)  and  offered  up  a  most  earnest 
prayer  of  thanks  to  God  for  his  deliverance  from  dangers, 
and  for  the  safety  which  had  attended  him  thus  far  in  his 
travels. 

Of  course,  the  arrival  of  Lord  Brewerton  was  at  once 
made  known  to  Mr.  Davis,  and  on  the  following  day  the 
President  not  only  called  upon  him,  but  insisted  that  he 
should  make  the  Executive  Mansion  his  home  while  he 
remained  in  Richmond,  to  which  Lord  Brewerton  finally 
consented,  and  at  once  accompanied  Mr.  Davis  to  his 
home.  For  a  day  or  two  they  were  in  close  consultation. 
After  that,  members  of  the  cabinet,  army  officers,  and 
other  prominent  gentlemen  commenced  to  call  upon  Lord 
Brewerton.  It  was  soon  after  arranged  that  a  reception 
ball  should  be  given  him  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  The 
programme  included  the  illumination  of  the  grounds  with 
brilliant  fire-works,  the  attendance  of  military  bands,  with 
special  invitations  to  all  the  leading  civil  and  military  of 
ficers  of  the  Confederacy.  The  reception  and  ball  came 
off,  and  was  even  more  brilliant  than  had  been  anticipated. 
Among  those  present  were  Generals  Lee,  Breckenridge, 
and  Beauregard.  The  ladies,  it  had  been  arranged,  should 
all  dress  in  calico,  from  the  President's  wife  down.  This 
was  observed  to  the  letter,  and  the  lord  was  given  to  un 
derstand  that  it  was  done  as  a  compliment  to  the  cotton 
manufacturing  interests  of  England,  though  the  fact  was 
that  but  few  Southern  ladies  had  any  of  their  silks  and 
satins  left  to  wear.  Although  the  South,  even  in  the  very 
highest  circles  of  society,  was  beginning  to  feel  the  pinch- 
ings  of  poverty  in  dress,  food,  and  in  almost  everything 

F 


82  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

else,  yet  this  was  carefully  concealed  from  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  Lord  Brewerton  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
stay  in  the  Confederacy. 

About  two  weeks  after  the  grand  ball,  Lord  Brewerton, 
accompanied  by  a  few  friends,  started  on  a  tour  of  inspec 
tion  through  the  Confederate  States,  especially  to  places 
where  cotton  was  stored  in  large  quantities.  They  visited 
Wilmington  and  Newbern,  N.  C,  Charleston,  Savannah, 
Mobile,  and  many  other  points.  The  entire  trip  occupied 
about  two  months.  On  his  return  to  Richmond,  Lord 
Brewerton  expressed  to  President  Davis  and  others  his 
entire  satisfaction  with  what  he  had  seen  and  otherwise 
learned,  adding  that  he  had  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
as  to  the  final  success  of  the  Confederate  arms.  He 
assured  Mr.  Davis  that  whatever  money,  arms,  and  pro 
visions  the  Confederacy  might  need  would  be  promptly 
furnished  by  himself  and  his  associates,  in  exchange  for 
cotton ;  and  that  the  cause  of  the  South  would  continue 
to  receive,  as  it  had  all  along  received,  the  sympathy  and 
moral  support  of  all  the  upper  classes  of  England.  He 
also  assured  him  that  if  the  ministry  of  England  could 
have  the  least  possible  excuse  for  interfering  between  the 
North  and  the  South,  they  would  be  more  than  glad  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  South,  as  England's  material 
interests  all  lay  in  this  direction,  and  the  moral  sentiment 
of  the  nation  could  not  stand  for  one  moment  in  the  way 
of  its  moneyed  interests. 

Lord  Brewerton  remained  in  Richmond  after  his  return 
about  one  week,  in  consultation  with  President  Davis  and 
his  cabinet ;  Colonel  Abercrombie  was  then  telegraphed 
for;  all  the  needed  arrangements  were  made;  the  two 
left  Richmond,  and  in  less  than  a  week  were  at  the  Eng 
lish  embassy  at  Washington.  Their  return  was  by  the 
same  route  as  that  on  which  they  had  gone ;  walking  and 
riding  about  the  same,  except  that  they  missed  this  time 


NOBILITY    AFTER    THE    NUGGETS.  83 

a  ride  behind  old  Jarrett's  blind  mule ;  nor  did  they  have 
the  luxury  of  spending  a  whole  day  at  Aunt  Rachel's 
negro  hut.  Lord  Brewerton  told  Lord  Lyons  all  about 
the  incidents  of  their  trip  (as  well  as  all  that  he  had  seen 
and  learned  of  the  Confederacy),  and  the  two  had  over 
them  and  their  wine  many  a  hearty  laugh. 

It  so  happened  that  on  the  evening  following  the  re 
turn  of  Lord  Brewerton  and  Colonel  Abercrombie  to 
Washington,  there  was  to  be  a  grand  reception  at  the 
White  House.  The  lord  invited  the  Colonel  to  accom 
pany  him  to  this  reception,  and  to  be  introduced  as  his 
friend.  The  Colonel  hesitated  at  first,  as  he  feared  he 
might  possibly  be  recognized  by  some  of  his  old  Wash 
ington  acquaintances,  or  by  some  of  Baker's  secret  detec 
tives.  He  finally  consented,  however,  and,  in  the  disguise 
of  a  "  French  exquisite,"  did  attend  President  Lincoln's 
grand  reception,  and  saw  and  heard  all  that  was  to  be 
seen  and  heard  on  such  occasions.  Of  course,  Lord 
Brewerton  was  the  observed  of  all  observers,  and  was 
recognized  by  all  (save  those  who  knew  to  the  contrary) 
as  a  staunch  friend  to  the  Union.  A  few  days  after,  Lord 
Brewerton  and  the  Colonel  went  to  Philadelphia,  where 
they  met  a  party  of  gentlemen  at  Dr.  Charles  Howell's, 
and  where  future  business  arrangements  were  talked  over 
and  agreed  upon.  From  here  the  lord  went  to  New 
York,  while  the  Colonel  returned  to  Washington  and 
from  thence  to  Richmond. 

Thus  we  finish  the  record  of  the  visit  of  one  English 
peer  to  the  Southern  Confederacy ;  but  this,  by  no  means, 
constitutes  the  whole  of  such  visits  during  the  war.  In 
January,  1863,  Lord  Talbot  was  at  Charleston,  having 
reached  there  by  the  way  of  Nassau.  He  had  a  son  who 
was  a  colonel  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  who  con 
tinued  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  In  No 
vember,  1863,  Lords  Harvey  and  Kartwright  were  at 


84  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

Richmond;  they,  too,  having  reached  the  Confederate 
States  by  the  way  of  Nassau.  Major  Hodges,  one  of 
General  Beauregard's  staff,  was  the  son  of  an  English 
lord,  and  did  faithful  service  until  the  war  closed.  Adju 
tant-General  Cooper  said  that  upon  the  army  rolls  were 
the  names  of  scores  who  were  either  the  sons  of,  or 
nearly  related  to,  English  peers.  Lord  Cavendish,  who 
was  in  very  bad  health,  remained  at  Nassau  during  most 
of  the  time  that  the  war  continued,  rendering  such  aid  to 
the  Confederacy  as  lay  in  his  power.  Indeed,  the  immense 
hotel  at  Nassau  was  crowded  with  English  and  Northern 
sympathizers  with  the  South  nearly  all  the  while,  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war,  watching  chances 
for  running  the  blockade,  and  otherwise  aiding  the  Con 
federacy  in  whatever  way  they  could.  These  gentlemen, 
however,  while  friends  to  the  Confederacy,  were  still  more 
friends  to  their  own  pockets.  With  them  "  cotton  was 
king,"  and  of  this  king  they  were  trying  to  get  as  much 
in  their  pockets  as  possible,  while  English  ministers  and 
English  consuls  were  aiding  them  to  the  extent  of  their 
ability.  This  was  true  not  only  at  Washington  and  at 
Nassau,  but  generally  with  British  ministers  and  British 
consuls  throughout  the  world,  which  fact,  added  to  what 
we  have  related  of  Lord  Brewerton,  who,  doubtless,  rep 
resented  many  other  persons  besides  himself,  and  many 
other  interests  besides  his  own,  fully  justifies,  as  we 
think,  the  caption  given  to  this  chapter,  NOBILITY  AFTER 
THE  NUGGETS — DIPLOMACY  PROMPTING  THE  ACTORS. 


86 


CHAPTER    VI. 

IN  TIGHT  PLACES  AND    OUT. 
SHREWDNESS    PULLING   THE   WIRES. 

THE  plan  of  our  work  admits  of  only  one  more  chap 
ter  on  the  subject  of  running  the  land  blockade, 
though,  if  space  permitted,  the  entire  volume  might  be 
filled  with  incidents  connected  with  this  one  service. 
This  chapter,  therefore,  must  embrace  a  variety  of  inci 
dents. 

On  one  of  the  trips,  Colonel  Abercrombie  conducted 
Mr.  Charles  R.  Dangerfield  from  Washington  to  Rich 
mond,  and  return.  Mr.  Dangerfield  was  a  large  manu 
facturer,  or  the  agent  of  manufacturers,  of  English  arms, 
accoutrements,  etc.,  and  his  object  in  visiting  Richmond 
was  to  make  contracts  with  the  Confederacy  in  exchange 
for  cotton.  Nothing  of  special  note  occurred  on  the  way 
to  Richmond,  except  that,  while  lying  at  the  negro  hut 
all  day,  two  men  came  to  the  door,  and  asked  "  Aunt  Je 
mima"  if  Colonel  Abercrombie  was  not  there?  This 
Mr.  Dangerfield  heard,  and  it  frightened  him  almost  out 
of  his  wits.  "  Now  Grant's  men  have  us !  "  said  he,  and, 
springing  up  from  where  he  lay,  he  was  ready  to  surren 
der  at  once ;  but  the  military  experience  of  the  Colonel 
made  him  cooler  and  more  courageous  than  the  English 
man,  and  he,  instead  of  surrendering,  was  getting  ready 
to  sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible,  when  "  Aunt  Jemima  " 
called  out,  "  All 's  right,  honey,  all 's  right !  dese  be  your 
guides,  Mas'er  Colonel ;  all 's  right !  "  Had  a  ten-thousand 
ton  weight  been  lifted  from  Mr.  Dangerfield's  breast,  he 

«7 


88      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

could  not  have  felt  more  relieved.  He  was  ready  to 
dance  a  hornpipe  then  and  there,  and  would  have  done 
it,  had  he  not  been  too  old,  fat,  and  clumsy  for  such  a 
youthful  sport.  From  Richmond,  Mr.  Dangerfield  visited 
all  the  larger  cities,  and  all  the  cotton-storing  places  of 
the  Confederacy.  On  his  return  to  Richmond  he  made 
contracts  with  the  government  to  his  entire  satisfaction, 
and  in  due  time  returned  to  Washington,  New  York,  and 
thence  to  London. 

At  another  time  the  Colonel  conducted  another  English 
manufacturer,  Mr.  Francis  Willis,  across  the  lines  and 
back.  He, like  Mr.  Dangerfield,  visited  the  principal  points 
in  the  Confederacy,  and,  on  his  return  to  Richmond,  made 
contracts  to  furnish  arms,  accoutrements,  saddles,  cloth 
ing,  etc.,  in  exchange  for  cotton. 

There  were  others  who  were  passengers  on  this  line,  at 
various  times ;  but  as  their  object  was  to  see  friends  or 
attend  to  domestic  affairs,  and  had  no  direct  connection 
with  the  war,  we  think  it  unnecessary  to  particularize 
them. 

On  one  of  the  trips  Colonel  Abercrombie  was  arrested 
as  a  spy — though  his  duties,  and  those  of  Colonel  Kill- 
gore's,  were  as  foreign  to  those  of  a  spy  as  one  thing  can 
be  foreign  to  another — and  as  there  were  incidents  con 
nected  with  the  arrest  and  escape  never  heretofore  known, 
we  will  now  relate  them. 

The  Colonel  was  on  his  way  from  Richmond  to  Wash 
ington.  Had  reached  Great  Falls  in  safety,  and  was 
about  half  way  between  that  point  and  Georgetown,  when 
a  sentinel  suddenly  called,  "Halt!  stand,  or  I'll  fire." 
The  Colonel,  who  was  in  the  disguise  of  a  farmer,  tried 
to  explain  to  the  sentinel  that  he  was  a  farmer,  living 
near  Georgetown;  that  he  had  been  up  to  Garrett  & 
Morse's  store  to  see  a  friend,  and  was  now  on  his  way 
back;  that  he  was  an  uncompromising  "Union  man,"  etc., 


IN    TIGHT    PLACES    AND    OUT.  89 

etc. ;  but  the  sentinel's  only  reply  was  that  his  orders  were 
to  halt  and  detain  any  one  who  attempted  to  pass  his  post, 
and  that  the  Colonel  must  stand  precisely  where  halted 
until  the  corporal  came  around,  and  not  move  a  step  for 
ward  or  backward,  or  he  would  fire  upon  him.  The 
Colonel  saw  that  he  had  a  sentinel  to  deal  with  who  could 
not  be  either  cajoled  or  bribed,  and  that  he  could  do 
nothing  else  than  await  the  coming  of  the  corporal,  and 
then  try  his  arts  upon  him.  Could  he  have  got  near  the 
sentinel,  he  would  have  disarmed  him  and  escaped,  but 
this  was  impossible.  When  the  corporal  came  around  to 
relieve  the  guard  the  Colonel  told  him  the  same  story  he 
had  told  the  sentinel ;  but  he  seemed  to  doubt  the  story, 
and  told  the  Colonel  he  must  "  fall  in  "  and  accompany 
them  to  the  Captain's  headquarters,  about  a  half-mile  dis 
tant.  On  reaching  there  the  Colonel  repeated  the  same 
old  story,  to  all  of  which  the  Captain  listened  attentively 
and  respectfully.  The  Captain  had  just  eaten  his  supper, 
and,  learning  from  the  Colonel  that  he  had  not  yet  had 
his,  asked  him  to  take  a  seat  at  the  table  and  help  himself. 
While  the  Colonel  was  eating,  the  Captain  narrowly  ob 
served  him,  and  pretty  soon  cried  out,  "  Yes !  I  see  you 
are  a  farmer  from  the  way  you  handle  your  knife  and 
fork !  A  pretty  farmer  you  are,  to  be  sure ! "  The  Colo 
nel  was  nonplussed  for  a  moment  and  could  make  no 
reply ;  but  after  awhile  managed  to  say  that  he  "  could  n't 
see  why  a  farmer  could  not  handle  a  knife  and  fork  just 
as  well  as  anybody  else."  He  was  caught,  fairly  caught, 
by  his  "  society  manners,"  and  the  more  he  talked,  the 
better  satisfied  the  Captain  became  that  he  was  not  a 
farmer,  and  might  be  a  spy.  He  was  accordingly  sent, 
that  same  night,  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Eleventh 
Pennsylvania  regiment,  and  there  put  in  the  guard-house. 
Next  morning  the  colonel  of  this  regiment  sent  him  to 
General  Wilson's  headquarters,  near  by,  who,  after  some 


9O  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

questions,  sent  him  back  to  the  guard-house.  The  next 
night  Colonel  Abercrombie  made  an  attempt  to  escape,  and 
nearly  succeeded.  This  being  reported  to  General  Wilson, 
he  ordered  a  heavy  ball  and  chain  to  be  strongly  riveted 
to  the  Colonel's  leg.  Matters  now  began  to  look  des 
perate  ;  for,  while  the  Colonel  had  no  fear  of  being  con 
demned  as  a  spy,  he  was  ready  to  do  anything,  rather 
than  be  brought  before  a  court-martial  and  recognized. 
He  bethought  himself  of  some  medicine  he  always  car 
ried  with  him.  Of  this  he  took  a  dose,  and  soon  had  a 
most  violent  diarrhoea.  He  now  could  ask,  and  did  ask, 
to  be  sent  to  a  hospital,  and  next  day  was  sent  to  the 
"  Lincoln  Hospital,"  near  Georgetown.  It  chanced  that 
on  the  next  couch  to  his  in  the  hospital  lay  a  Confederate 
captain,  named  Lawrence  Norton,  of  Georgia.  The  two 
soon  became  acquainted.  The  Colonel  told  the  Cap 
tain  that  if  by  any  means  the  ball  and  chain  could  be 
taken  from  his  leg,  he  could  escape  from  the  hospital. 
The  Captain  told  his  wife  this  when  she  visited  him  next 
day ;  the  wife  became  immediately  interested,  and  soon 
procured  and  brought  to  her  husband  a  watch-spring  file; 
the  Captain  that  same  night  so  filed  the  clasp,  which  held 
the  ball  and  chain  to  the  Colonel's  ankle,  that  it  could  be 
slipped  off  at  any  moment.  The  Colonel  watched  the 
surgeon  when  he  came  into  the  hospital  next  day,  and 
managed  to  slip  a  pass  from  the  surgeon's  overcoat 
pocket  while  it  lay  upon  a  stand  near  his  bed.  With  this 
pass  and  two  empty  bottles  in  his  hand,  he  rushed  by  the 
sentinel  at  the  door,  on  the  plea  that  he  was  in  great  haste 
to  bring  medicines  which  the  doctor  had  just  sent  him 
after.  Once  outside  the  building,  he  sprang  over  a  ceme 
tery  fence,  and  from  thenceforth  allowed  no  grass  to  grow 
under  his  feet  until  he  was  safe  at  Ben  Beveridge's  hotel. 
Here,  of  course,  there  was  great  rejoicing  at  the  Colonel's 
wonderful  escape;  but,  fearing  pursuit,  it  was  thought 


IN    TIGHT    PLACES    AND    OUT.  QI 

best  that  the  Colonel  should  proceed  at  once  to  Balti 
more,  and  from  thence  to  Philadelphia.  It  was  deemed 
best,  too,  that  he  should  not  start  from  the  Washington 
depot,  lest  detectives  be  on  the  watch  there  for  him.  Ac 
cordingly,  Ben  ordered  up  his  own  spanking  team  of  bays, 
and  before  daybreak  had  the  Colonel  at  the  Bladensburg 
station,  where  he  took  the  first  train  that  came  along  for 
Baltimore.  Fearing,  however,  to  go  into  the  Baltimore 
depot,  lest  detectives  might  be  there  on  the  watch  for  him, 
the  Colonel  got  off  the  train  at  the  Relay  House,  and 
gave  a  man  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece  to  drive  him  into 
Baltimore,  a  distance  of  about  thirteen  miles.  He  went 
direct  to  the  Fountain  Hotel,  in  Light  Street,  where  he 
remained  carefully  concealed  for  several  days,  only  seeing 
Mr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  such  others  as  he  knew  to 
be  firm  friends  of  the  Southern  cause.  Then  he  went  to 
Philadelphia  and  remained  at  Dr.  Howell's  for  about  two 
weeks. 

Meanwhile  the  newspapers  of  Washington  and  of  the 
whole  country  were  publishing  accounts  about  the  "won 
derful  escape  of  a  rebel  spy,"  and  all  sorts  of  guesses 
were  made  as  to  who  he  was,  how  he  had  managed  to 
escape,  who  had  helped  him,  where  he  had  gone,  etc.,  etc. 
Of  course,  the  whole  of  Baker's  national  detective  force 
and  all  the  police  and  detective  forces  of  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  of  every  other  Northern  city,  were 
specially  charged  to  search  out,  arrest,  and  bring  to 
speedy  justice  this  "desperate  rebel  spy;"  but  not  one 
of  them  all  ever  succeeded  in  arresting,  nor  even  in  as 
certaining  who  this  "  rebel  spy  "  was  ;  and  not  until  this 
shall  appear  in  print  will  the  world  at  large  ever  know 
who  the  arrested  party  was,  how  he  managed  his  escape, 
or  what  became  of  him  after  his  escape. 


92  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

JOHNSON    IN   A   QUANDARY. 

THE   HEART   MASTERING   THE   HEAD. 

There  was  another  incident  connected  with  the  running 
of  the  land  blockade  which,  though  hardly  sufficient  for 
an  entire  chapter,  is  too  important  and  too  interesting  to 
allow  to  pass  without  notice :  for  not  until  this  is  pub 
lished  will  it  ever  be  known  outside  of  some  half-dozen 
persons.  The  incident  was  as  follows  : 

On  one  of  his  blockade-running  visits  to  Washington, 
Colonel  Abercrombie  learned  that  Senator  Andrew  John 
son,  as  it  then  was  (though  afterwards  Vice-President,  and 
still  afterwards  President  of  the  United  States),  had  rooms  at 
Beveridge's  Hotel,  the  very  place  that  he  was  making  his 
headquarters  when  in  Washington.  Knowing  the  Sen 
ator  to  be  a  fierce,  uncompromising  Union  man,  the  news 
of  his  close  proximity  at  first  alarmed  the  Colonel ;  but, 
upon  reflection,  he  remembered  that  Mrs.  Johnson  and 
his  mother  had  long  been  on  the  most  intimate  terms, — 
that  the  Senator  knew  him  personally,  and  had  always 
treated  him  with  the  utmost  kindness, — that  he  was  a 
man  of  generous  heart,  and  even  though  he  should  learn 
of  his  being  there,  the  danger  of  his  interfering  with  him 
was  next  to  nothing.  He  therefore  decided  to  stand  his 
ground  and  take  the  chances. 

As  proximity  to  danger  is  always  exciting,  and,  after  a 
time,  becomes  attractive,  so  in  this  case,  what  at  first 
seemed  alarming,  after  a  time  became  so  attractive  that 
the  Colonel  had  a  longing  desire  to  see  and  converse 
with  his  old  friend,  Andrew  Johnson.  He  communicated 
this  desire  to  his  friend  and  co-associate  in  the  blockade- 
running  business,  Ben  Beveridge,  and  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  it.  Ben,  at  first,  thought  it  would  not  do  at 
all ;  but,  like  the  Colonel,  after  thinking  over  the  matter 


IN    TIGHT    PLACES    AND    OUT.  93 

some  time,  concluded  that  it  would  be  a  capital  joke,  and 
advised  the  Colonel  to  try  it. 

The  Colonel  was  disguised — so  disguised,  indeed,  that 
even  his  own  sister  would  not  have  known  him,  had  she 
met  him  in  the  street — and  the  arrangement  was,  that 
Ben  should  await  in  the  entry,  near  the  Senator's  cham 
ber-door,  while  the  Colonel  went  in  to  talk  with  him ; 
and  that,  if  the  Senator  did  not  receive  him  kindly,  or  if 
he  showed  any  disposition  to  arrest  him,  the  Colonel 
should  at  once  quit  the  room,  and  Ben  would  help  him  to 
escape. 

Everything  thus  understood,  the  Colonel  went  to  the 
Senator's  door  and  knocked  gently.  A  deep,  stentorian 
voice  replied,  "Come  in;"  but  the  Colonel  pretended  not 
to  hear  this,  and  knocked  again,  as  he  wanted  the  Senator 
to  come  to  and  open  the  door,  that  he  might  at  once  step 
within  the  room,  whether  the  Senator  invited  him  to  do 
so  or  not.  The  second  knock  brought  the  Senator  to 
the  door,  which  he  opened  far  enough  to  face  his  visitor, 
when  he  said : 

"  How  do  you  do,  sir?" 

The  Colonel  replied,  and,  while  replying,  stepped  within 
the  room,  when  the  Senator  shut  the  door,  and  invited 
his  visitor  to  take  a  seat.  The  Colonel  did  not  sit  down, 
but,  taking  hold  of  the  back  of  the  chair  offered  him,  he 
said  to  Mr.  Johnson  : 

"  You  seem  not  to  know  me,  Mr.  Senator.  When  did 
you  leave  Greenville?  and  where  is  Mrs.  Johnson  and 
Bob?" 

This  confused  the  Senator  more  than  ever,  as  the 
visitor  seemed  to  be  familiar  with  his  wife  and  son,  as 
well  as  with  himself,  and  yet  he  could  not  recollect  to 
have  ever  seen  him  before. 

"  Well,  no,"  replied  the  Senator,  "  I  really  cannot  place 
you,  or  call  your  name.  By  jingo!  who  are  you, any  way?" 


94      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

"  I  guess  you  don't  want  to  know  me,"  replied  the 
Colonel,  "  and  I  had  better  be  going." 

"Oh,  no,  sir;  oh,  no,"  replied  Mr.  Johnson;  "sit  down! 
sit  down !  When  did  you  come  from  Greenville  ?  But 
really,  sir,  I  cannot  recall  your  name — I  cannot." 

The  Colonel  observed  the  Senator's  confusion,  and  so 
enjoyed  the  joke  that  it  was  some  time  before  he  would 
let  himself  be  known.  Then,  suddenly  tearing  the  false 
whiskers  from  his  face  and  putting  on  a  natural  ex 
pression,  he  stood  revealed  before  the  Senator. 

"My  God!  is  this  you,  Ralph?"  was  all  that  Mr. 
Johnson  could  say  for  some  moments ;  and  then  added, 
"  Why,  Ralph,  ain't  you  in  the  rebel  service  ?  " 

"  Well,  what  if  I  am  ?  "  replied  the  Colonel ;  "  you  don't 
propose  to  arrest  me,  do  you  ?  " 

"No,  no;  but,  by  jingo!  what  under  heavens  brought 
you  here?"  said  the  Senator;  and,  going  to  the  door, 
locked  it  before  the  Colonel  had  time  to  reply.  "  Sit 
down!  sit  down!"  he  added,  "and  tell  me  all  about  it. 
What  under  heavens  could  have  brought  you  here,  or 
induced  you  to  call  upon  me?" 

The  Colonel  then  took  a  seat  and  explained  to  Mr. 
Johnson  why  he  was  there,  the  nature  of  his  business, 
and  that  he  had  only  called  upon  him  as  a  good  joke, 
and  to  renew  an  old  acquaintance;  to  all  of  which  the 
Senator  listened  attentively,  though  trembling  meanwhile 
from  excitement.  When  the  Colonel  had  finished,  Mr. 
Johnson  sprang  from  his  chair,  walked  hurriedly  across 
the  room  two  or  three  times,  went  to  the  front  windows 
and  pulled  down  the  shades,  and  then,  turning  to  the 
Colonel,  said : 

"  Does  anybody  know  that  you  are  here  with  me?" 

Just  then  Mr.  Johnson  heard  a  tittering  in  the  entry- 
way,  and,  turning  to  the  Colonel,  asked  him  if  he  had 
any  companions  waiting  outside.  The  Colonel  replied, 


IN    TIGHT    PLACES    AND    OUT.  95 

that  he  thought  it  might  be  Ben,  as  he  alone  knew  of 
his  visit.  Immediately  Mr.  Johnson  stepped  to  the  door, 
and,  seeing  Ben,  asked  him  to  step  in.  Ben  did  so,  and 
now  the  Senator  became  more  in  a  quandary  than  ever. 
He  scolded  both  Ben  and  the  Colonel  pretty  severely, 
and  told  them  they  did  not  appreciate  the  awkward  posi 
tion  in  which  they  were  placing  him;  that,  if  the  Colonel's 
visit  to  him  were  known,  it  would,  under  the  circum 
stances,  compromise  him  in  a  most  serious  manner.  Ben 
tried  to  soothe  the  Senator  by  telling  him  that  the 
Colonel's  call  upon  him  was  only  intended  as  a  joke ; 
that  it  could  never  be  known  outside  of  their  three 
selves ;  and  that  it  should  never  be  repeated,  if  annoying 
to  him.  The  Senator  replied,  that  while  he  was  glad, 
personally,  to  see  Ralph,  yet  the  fact  that  he  was  known 
to  be  an  officer  in  the  rebel  army,  and  in  his  business  of 
blockade-running  might  by  some  be  regarded  as  a  spy, 
made  it  doubly  awkward  for  him,  and,  if  it  were  known 
to  the  Senate,  might  cost  him  his  seat,  as  well  as  his 
reputation  as  a  consistent  UNION  man;  that  nearly  every 
one  would  say  that  he  ought  to  have  had  the  Colonel 
arrested  and  detained,  at  least  as  a  prisoner-of-war,  if  not 
as  a  spy;  and  that,  in  holding  communication  with  him 
without  attempting  his  arrest,  he  made  himself  a  party 
to  his  crime,  whether  as  a  rebel  to  the  government  or  as 
a  spy.  The  more  the  Senator  talked  about  it,  the  graver 
he  became  over  it,  until  the  Colonel  and  Ben  saw  that 
what  had  been  intended  as  a  comedy  might  prove  a 
serious  tragedy  with  all  concerned,  and  that  the  sooner 
they  got  out  of  the  way  the  better.  Before  leaving,  the 
Senator  exacted  from  each  a  solemn  promise  that  they 
would  not  repeat  the  joke  under  any  possible  circum 
stances. 

There  is  no  kind  of  doubt  that  Senator  Johnson  felt 
greatly  troubled  at  receiving  such  a  visit  from  an  officer  in 


g       SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  Confederate  service,  and  in  learning  that  his  land 
lady's  son,  Ben,  was  just  as  much  of  a  rebel  at  heart  as 
the  Colonel  himself.  He  knew,  too,  that  his  official  duty 
as  a  United  States  Senator  was  to  have  both  of  these  men 
arrested,  tried,  and,  if  possible,  convicted,  while  his  heart 
prompted  to  a  course  directly  the  contrary.  He  had  long 
known,  and  had  high  regard  for,  the  mothers  of  both ; 
the  men  he  had  known  from  childhood  upward,  and  al 
ways  liked  them,  as  boys,  as  young  men,  as  men  in  active 
life,  and  he  would  as  soon  have  thought  of  having  his 
own  son,  "  Bob,"  arrested  as  either  of  these,  and  yet  his 
duty  plainly  pointed  in  that  direction.  It  was  a  conflict 
between  his  head  and  his  heart,  in  which  his  heart  gained 
the  mastery. 

That  the  Senator  did  not  hold  any  ill-will  against  the 
Colonel  or  against  Ben  for  this  wild  prank  of  theirs 
against  his  Senatorial  and  official  dignity  is  proven  from 
the  fact  that  he  still  continued  to  board  with  Ben's  mother 
at  the  "  Washington  House,"  and  within  two  years  after 
he  became  President  he  appointed  the  Colonel  as  one  of 
three  commissioners  to  reopen  and  establish  mail-routes 
throughout  the  late  Confederate  States. 


98 


CHAPTER    VII. 

PRISONERS,  HOW  USED  AND  HOW  ABUSED. 
CRAFT   AND    CRUELTY    PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

IN  General  L.  C.  Baker's  "  History  of  the  United  States 
Secret  Service,"  four  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  sub 
ject  of  bounty-jumpers.  In  these  chapters  the  startling 
facts  are  disclosed  that  "  on  investigation,  it  was  found 
that  only  one  in  four  of  the  enlisted  men  reached  the 
front ; "  that,  in  some  instances,  the  entire  quota  of  a  town 
ship  was  filled  with  the  names  of  bounty -jumpers,  not  one 
of  whom  ever  really  enlisted  or  went  to  the  front ;  that 
desertions  from  the  army  became  so  common  that  to 
"  even  attempt  to  show,  by  actual  figures,  the  number 
would  be  impossible;"  that  "to  aid  the  soldier  to  desert 
was  deemed  to  be  as  much  the  legitimate  business  and 
calling  of  the  professional  bounty  broker  as  to  enlist 
him;"  that  in  one  investigation  it  was  shown,  "out  of 
5,284  enlisted,  only  2,083  actually  entered  the  service;" 
that  out  of  this  number — less  than  one-half  who  really 
enlisted — not  more  than  three-fourths  ever  reached  the 
front,  and  of  these  probably  one-fourth  deserted  and  re 
turned  to  the  States,  to  reenlist  and  receive  bounty 
again  ;  that  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-three  who  enlisted 
in  one  day  at  Hoboken  and  were  credited  to  the  quota  of 
Jersey  City,  every  one  was  a  bounty-jumper ;  that  case 
after  case  came  to  light  where  a  single  bounty-jumper  had 
enlisted  three  times,  and  received  three  separate  bounties, 
in  one  day,  and  that  even  gipsy-like  gangs  were  organized, 
who  travelled  from  city  to  city,  enlisting  such  of  their 

99 


IOO     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

number  as  they  could,  assisting  such  as  enlisted  to  escape, 
and  then  on  to  the  next  city  or  recruiting  station  to  re 
peat  the  same  thing.  Of  one  such  gang  it  is  related  that 
"  in  a  trip  of  thirty-two  days  their  total  profits  amounted 
to  ^32,000." 

It  is  also  a  matter  of  record  that  while  skirmishes  and 
battles  were  in  progress,  Union  soldiers  in  the  front  ranks, 
and  especially  if  sent  forward  as  skirmishers,  would  some 
times  throw  down  their  muskets  and  run  over  to  the 
enemy ;  and  it  not  unfrequently  happened  that  sentinels 
on  the  outposts  were  missing  and  never  heard  of  more, 
or,  if  heard  of,  it  would  be  found  they  had  gone  within 
the  Confederate  lines  and  surrendered. 

These  matters  have  all  been  told,  and  well  told,  by 
other  historians,  but  not  until  these  "  Secrets  of  the  Re 
bellion  "  have  been  published  will  it  be  generally  known 
what  became  of  those  who  thus  threw  down  their  arms, 
and  of  those  who  thus  abandoned  their  posts,  to  go  over 
to  the  enemy,  and  that  to  encourage  bounty-jumping  in 
the  North,  and  thereby  promote  desertions  from  the  Union 
army,  became,  after  August,  1863,  a  part  of  the  masterly 
diplomacy  or  tactics  adopted  by  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment. 

Of  the  bounty-jumpers  who  first  tried  the  game  of 
going  over-to  the  enemy,  under  the  belief  that  they  would 
soon  be  exchanged  or  paroled,  and  thus  have  opportuni 
ties  /or  procuring  additional  bounties,  quite  a  number 
were  shot  as  spies.  The  "  dead-board,"  as  it  was  called, 
of  General  Lee's  army,  had  a  summary  way  of  dealing 
with  all  cases  which  they  deemed  of  a  questionable  char 
acter.  A  statement  from  the  person  making  the  arrest ; 
where  found,  and  under  what  circumstances ;  a  few  ques 
tions  to  the  accused ;  a  consultation  of  ten  minutes 
among  the  seven  officers  who  composed  the  board; 
sentence ;  and  on  the  day  following,  and  sometimes  on 


PRISONERS,  HOW    USED    AND    HOW    ABUSED.       IOI 

the  same  day,  the  accused  would  be  seen  sitting  on  an 
empty  coffin,  on  his  way  to  execution. 

But  in  August,  1863,  a  new  thought  crossed  the  brain 
of  the  Confederate  authorities.  They  then  concluded 
that,  instead  of  shooting  bounty-jumpers  as  spies,  they 
could  make  them  serviceable  to  the  Confederate  cause 
by  using  them  as  stool-pigeons,  and  like  as  stool-pigeons 
are  used  to  draw  whole  flocks  into  the  net,  so  these  could 
be  used  to  corrupt,  and  bring  thousands  into  the  Confed 
erate  lines.  In  pursuance  of  this  new  idea,  five  large  to 
bacco  warehouses,  on  Carey  Street,  each  three  stories 
high,  directly  opposite  "  Castle  Thunder,"  in  Richmond, 
were  converted  into  a  prison,  and  called  "  Castle  Light 
ning."  In  this  prison,  bounty-jumpers  alone  were  put, 
and  the  rations  furnished  them  were  doubly  as  good  as  the 
rations  furnished  the  prisoners  in  other  prisons.  When 
ever  an  exchange  of  prisoners  was  possible,  those  in  Cas 
tle  Lightning  were  always  given  the  preference,  and,  when 
about  to  leave,  they  were  told  that  they  should  take  from 
the  Yankees  as  many  bounties  as  they  possibly  could; 
that,  if  again  sent  to  the  front,  they  should  desert,  and 
bring  as  many  others  along  with  them  as  possible ;  that 
they  would  always  be  well  treated,  and  given  the  best  ra 
tions  the  Confederacy  could  afford ;  that  they  would  be 
exchanged,  or  otherwise  sent  back  to  their  homes,  at  the 
first  opportunity;  and  that  to  secure  safety  and  good 
treatment,  when  coming  into  the  Confederate  lines,  they 
should  cry  out,  "  Bounty-jumper !  Bounty-jumper ! "  This 
was  told  them  not  only  when  about  to  leave,  but  again, 
and  again,  and  again  during  their  stay,  and  the  superior 
treatment  they  received  while  prisoners,  assured  them 
that  the  promises  made  would  all  be  fulfilled. 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  return  of  the  first  batch 
of  these  bounty-jumpers  to  the  North,  the  effect  of  the 
new  policy  began  to  show  itself,  and  it  steadily  increased 
9* 


IO2     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

from  that  time  onward.  Hardly  a  day,  and  sometimes 
several  times  in  a  day,  squads  of  Union  prisoners  arrived 
in  Richmond,  and  were  marched  to  Castle  Lightning,  who 
had  voluntarily  come  within  the  lines,  and  claimed  to  be 
bounty-jumpers.  Nor  was  there  scarcely  a  day  in  which 
squads  of  these  same  men  might  not  be  seen  leaving 
the  prison,  on  their  way  to  be  exchanged,  or  otherwise 
sent  back  to  the  Union  army,  or  direct  to  their  homes. 
Like  leaven,  its  tendency  was  to  leaven  the  whole  lump, 
as  the  authorities  of  the  Confederacy  believed  would  be  the 
case  when  they  adopted  the  policy.  One  such  man  in  a 
company  would,  in  time,  taint  the  whole  company;  ten 
such  men  in  a  regiment  would,  in  time,  taint  the  whole 
regiment.  When  a  battle  is  progressing,  a  single  regiment, 
yea,  a  single  company,  going  over  to  the  enemy  will  some 
times  so  change  the  tide  of  battle  that  what  seemed  an 
assured  victory,  will  prove  a  most  disastrous  defeat. 

Of  course  it  is  not  known,  never  can  be  known,  how 
many  millions  of  dollars,  nor  how  many  thousands  of 
lives  the  adoption  of  this  policy  by  the  South  cost  the 
North ;  nor  can  the  South  ever  know  the  amount  of  ad 
vantage  which  they  derived  from  adopting  the  policy; 
but  that  it  was  a  new  mode  of  warfare,  and  showed  great 
shrewdness  on  the  part  of  those  who  conceived  and  car 
ried  out  the  project,  all  will  agree  in  admitting. 

Having  thus  shown  how  the  Confederate  authorities 
used  Union  prisoners  to  benefit  their  own  cause,  we  will 
next  proceed  to  state  some  additional  facts  as  to  the  abuse 
received  by  other  Union  prisoners.  The  facts  which  we 
now  purpose  to  state  are  not  from  hearsay,  not  from  one 
sided  newspapers,  nor  from  partisan  historians,  but  di 
rectly  from  the  lips  of  one  who  had  occasion  to  visit 
Confederate  prisoners  frequently  during  the  war,  whose 
whole  soul  was  in,  and  with,  the  Confederate  cause,  and 
who  could  not  be,  and  would  not  be,  by  any  who  knew 


PRISONERS,  HOW     USED    AND     HOW    ABUSED.       IO3 

him,  accused  of  sympathy  with  the  "  Yankees,"  as  he 
usually  styles  Union  soldiers  when  speaking  of  them. 
We  have  not  space  to  write  of  all,  and  will  limit  our 
remarks  to  only  four  of  the  many  places  throughout  the 
Confederate  States  at  which  Union  prisoners  were  con 
fined. 

First. — "  Libby  Prison."  This  was  located  in  Rich 
mond,  and  had  been  a  tobacco  warehouse  previous  to  its 
use  as  a  prison.  It  was  an  immense  brick  building,  three 
stories  high,  rough  floors,  no  plastering,  a  great  number 
of  windows,  no  fire-places,  and  no  means  for  heating 
other  than  for  the  office  on  the  first  floor.  In  this,  hun 
dreds  of  Union  prisoners  were  thrust  and  kept  for  weeks, 
months,  years — some  with  scarcely  enough  clothing  left 
to  cover  their  nakedness,  and  with  no  chance  for  a  change ; 
many  without  a  blanket,  even  in  the  coldest  winter  weather-; 
all  without  beds,  or  mattress,  or  anything  but  the  hard 
floor  to  lie  upon.  Their  ordinary  daily  ration  consisted 
of  a  loaf  made  from  one  pint  of  corn-meal  and  one  pint 
of  rice  soup.  Occasionally,  though  rarely,  they  would 
have  bread  made  from  wheat  flour  and  soup  made  from 
meat  and  bones.  Once  in  a  great  while  they  were  served 
with  meat,  but  the  quantity  served  to  each  man  was  so 
small  that  it  could  be  taken  at  a  mouthful.  Our  inform 
ant  says  he  knows  of  a  certainty  that  some  actually  starved 
to  death — that  others  actually  froze  to  death — that  many 
were  wantonly  shot  while  thoughtlessly  looking  out  of 
the  windows,  by  sentinels  on  the  sidewalks,  who  had 
positive  orders  from  Lieutenant  Turner,  the  officer  in 

command   of  Libby,  to   shoot   any   "d d   Yankee" 

whose  head  might  be  seen  at  the  window-bars ;  and  that 
hundreds,  yea,  thousands,  died  from  sickness  brought  upon 
them  by  the  privations  from  which  they  suffered.  We 
could  give  other  details,  but  they  are  too  horrible  to  write, 
and  would  be  too  sickening  to  read. 


104     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Second.—"  Castle  Thunder."  All  that  we  have  said 
of  "  Libby  "  will  apply  equally  well  to  this  prison,  except 
that  in  some  cases  the  cruelty  of  treatment  might  be  mul 
tiplied  by  two,  and  in  some  instances  by  three.  Here  our 
informant  saw  prisoners  with  ball  and  chain  to  their  legs, 
and  handcuffed  together;  chanced  to  be  in  the  room  when 
the  brains  of  one  of  the  prisoners  were  spattered  against 
the  wall,  by  a  ball  from  the  musket  in  the  hands  of  a  sen 
tinel  on  the  pavement  two  stories  below,  and  only  because 
the  prisoner  had  dared  to  look  out  at  a  window ;  learned 
of  many  like  cases  which  occurred  before  and  after  that 
visit ;  nor  has  he  any  doubt  that  scores  were  there  inhu 
manly  shot,  because  of  orders  from  the  officer  in  com 
mand,  Captain  Alexander.  At  least  one  Union  prisoner, 
a  Captain  Dayton,  was  hung  on  the  charge  of  being  a 
spy.  In  this  prison,  dogs  that  chanced  to  stray  in  were 
seized,  killed,  and  eaten ;  and  rat-meat  was  regarded  as 
a  dainty  dish. 

Third. — Salisbury,  N.  C.,  was  a  large  enclosure  within 
a  high  board  fence,  on  the  outside  of  which  was  a  walk 
for  sentinels,  and  within  which  was  the  "  dead-line,"  about 
thirty  feet  from  the  fence,  to  cross  which  meant  instant 
death  to  any  prisoner.  The  "  sinks  "  for  the  camp  were 
located  on  this  "  dead-line,"  and  at  one  of  his  visits  our  in 
formant  saw  the  dead  body  of  a  prisoner  lying  in  one  of 
the  "  sinks,"  who  had  been  shot  by  a  sentinel  in  the  after 
noon  of  the  day  before  while  sitting  on  the  pole  at  the 
"  sink."  The  sentinel,  when  asked  why  he  had  shot  the 
prisoner,  replied  that  he  thought  he  was  trying  to  come 
over  the  dead-line  and  therefore  shot  him.  At  this  same 
visit  our  informant  saw  sentinels,  with  guns  on  their  shoul 
ders,  pacing  their  rounds  on  the  outside  of  this  fence, 
who  were  not  over  twelve  years  of  age,  and  the  one  who 
had  shot  the  prisoner  at  the  "  sink  "  was  scarcely  over 
this  age.  The  whole  regiment  on  guard  at  that  camp,  at 


PRISONERS,  HOW    USED    AND    HOW    ABUSED.       10$ 

that  time,  was  made  up  of  boys  from  twelve  to  sixteen 
years  of  age,  and  of  very  old  men — not  one  of  all  of  whom 
was  fit  for  a  soldier.  The  officer  in  command,  a  Major 
Gee,  was  himself  a  brute,  and  no  more  fit  to  have  the  care 
of  human  beings  than  a  hyena  would  be  to  be  placed  in 
charge  of  a  sheepfold.  Here,  as  at  Libby  and  Castle 
Thunder,  the  usual  ration  was  a  loaf  made  from  one  pint 
of  corn-meal,  each  day,  and  occasionally  a  small  bit  of 
meat.  For  shelter  most  of  them  had  to  burrow  for  them 
selves,  like  rabbits,  in  holes  under  ground ;  and  so  poorly 
were  they  off  for  clothing  and  shoes,  that  our  informant 
saw  scores  of  men  standing  about  the  doors  of  hospitals, 
waiting  for  the  clothing  and  shoes  of  those  who  might 
die  within.  Every  morning  carts  came  around  to  gather 
up  the  dead,  to  take  them  without  the  camp  and  throw 
in  trenches. 

Fourth. —  Andersonville,  Georgia.  This  was  an  en 
closure  of  about  twenty-five  acres,  surrounded  by  a  high 
stockade,  and  by  earthworks  mounted  with  cannon.  One 
end  of  the  enclosure  was  a  swamp,  through  which  crept 
a  sluggish,  muddy  stream,  and  this  was  the  only  water 
to  which  the  prisoners  had  access.  To  add  to  the  filthi- 
ness  and  consequent  unhealthfulness  of  this  water,  a 
Confederate  camp  was  located  upon  it,  above  the  point 
where  the  stream  entered  the  stockade.  The  few  build 
ings  within  the  enclosure  were  scarcely  enough  for  hos 
pital  purposes,  and  here,  as  at  Salisbury,  the  prisoners 
had  to  burrow  in  the  earth  for  shelter.  Even  in  the 
coldest  of  weather  thousands  had  no  blankets,  nor  scarcely 
clothing  enough  to  cover  their  nakedness.  Their  ordi 
nary  ration  here,  as  at  the  other  places  named,  was  a 
loaf  made  from  one  pint  of  corn-meal  each  day,  and 
when,  as  occasionally  they  did,  receive  anything  beyond 
this,  it  was  regarded  as  a  rare  treat.  The  shooting  of 
men  on  the  "dead-line"  was  almost  of  daily  occurrence. 


IO6     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Indeed,  many  of  the  prisoners  became  so  crazed  from 
suffering  that  they  sought  death  in  this  way.  General 
Winder  was  commander  of  the  camp,  and  under  him 
was  the  Captain  Wirz  who  was  tried,  convicted,  and  hung 
at  Washington  near  the  close  of  the  war.  Thousands  at 
the  South,  as  well  as  at  the  North,  believed  then,  and 
believe  still,  that  General  Winder,  instead  of  his  subor 
dinate  officer,  should  have  stood  beneath  the  hangman's 
noose.  Undoubtedly  he  could  have  corrected  these  ter 
rible  wrongs  had  he  tried.  That  he  did  not  try  is  proof 
positive  that  he  did  not  care.  The  world  at  large  always 
gives  to  commanders  the  chief  credit  of  all  done  by  their 
subordinates,  and,  on  the  same  principle,  holds  them  re 
sponsible  for  all  that  their  subordinates  fail  to  do  or  do 
wrongfully.  Had  General  Winder  desired  his  prisoners 
to  have  had  better  treatment,  neither  Captain  Wirz,  nor  any 
other  of  his  subordinates,  would  have  treated  them  as 
they  did.  How  much  they  suffered  none  will  ever  know. 
The  horrible  things  related  in  the  foregoing  pages,  and 
the  thousands  of  other  terrible  things  related  by  others 
who  have  written  the  history  of  the  Rebellion,  are  but  as 
drops  to  the  ocean,  as  sands  to  the  sea-shore,  to  all  that 
occurred  during  the  war.  Dark  deeds  seek  to  hide  them 
selves  always,  and  while  the  "  secrets  "  of  this  volume, 
and  a  few  others,  have  oozed  out  since  the  war,  others 
doubtless  quite  as  bad  have  never  yet,  and  probably 
never  will,  see  the  light  of  day.  And  possibly  it  is  best 
so.  There  are  some  deeds  that  so  harrow  up  one's 
feelings  that,  if  related,  they  would,  as  said  by  Hamlet's 
ghost : 

"Freeze  the  young  blood; 

Make  the  two  eyes,  like  stars,  start  from  their  spheres ; 

The  knotted  and  combined  locks  to  part, 

And  each  particular  hair  to  stand  on  end 

Like  quills  upon  the  fretful  porcupine." 


PRISONERS,  HOW    USED    AND    HOW    ABUSED.       IO/ 

Or,  after  hearing  them,  make  us  to  cry  out  with  Ham 
let  (slightly  varied) : 

"O  all  you  host  of  heaven!     O  earth!  what  else? 
And  shall  I  couple  hell  ?    O  fie !     Hold,  hold  my  heart ; 
And  you,  my  sinews,  grow  not  instant  old, 
But  bear  me  stiffly  up! — Remember  them? 
Yea,  from  the  table  of  my  memory 
I  '11  wipe  away  all  trivial  records, 
All  saws  of  books,  all  forms,  all  pleasures  past, 
That  youth  and  observation  copied  there, 
And  these  base  deeds  alone,  alone  shall  live 
Within  the  book  and  volume  of  my  brain 
Unmixed  with  baser  matter; 
And  on  my  tablets  I  will  set  it  down 
That  one  may  smile,  and  smile,  and  be  a  villain  ! " 

We  could  ourself  add  more,  much  more,  from  what  our 
informant  told  us ;  but  our  heart  sickens  over  such  re 
citals,  and  our  readers,  we  are  sure,  have  had  quite  enough 
of  it. 

The  first  question,  and  the  most  natural  question  for 
any  one  to  ask,  after  reading  the  terrible  atrocities  just 
recited,  would  be,  Who  was  or  is  accountable  for  all  this 
suffering? 

The  gentleman  from  whose  lips  we  gathered  most  of 
the  foregoing  facts  had  opportunities  of  learning  the  in 
dividual  sentiments  of  President  Davis  upon  this  subject, 
as  upon  many  others,  quite  as  well,  perhaps,  as  any  man 
within  the  lines  of  the  Confederacy,  and  he  assured  us 
that  Mr.  Davis  regretted,  as  much  as  any  man  could 
regret,  the  sufferings  of  Union  prisoners,  and  that,  when 
ever  reports  of  their  ill-treatment  came  to  his  ears,  he 
at  once  gave  them  attention.  That,  time  and  again,  Mr. 
Davis  appointed  gentlemen  of  high  character  to  visit  the 
prison-places  we  have  named,  and  report  to  him  any  and 
all  abuses  of  which  they  might  learn ;  that,  again  and 
again,  he  cautioned,  reprimanded,  and  in  some  cases  re 


IO8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

moved,  officers  charged  with  cruelty  to  Union  prisoners ; 
and  that  he  did  whatever  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do  to 
mitigate  their  sufferings.  In  view  of  the  high  personal 
character  which  Mr.  Davis  bore  before  he  became  Presi 
dent  of  the  Confederacy,  and  of  the  consistent  Christian 
character  he  has  since  borne,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this 
is  a  correct  interpretation  of  his  sentiments  with  reference 
to  Union  prisoners.  It  would  almost  make  one  lose  faith 
in  humanity  were  it  otherwise. 

If  President  Davis  was  not  responsible,  the  next  most 
natural  question  would  be,  Who  is  ?  and  to  this  answers 
would  differ  with  almost  every  one  who  might  attempt  to 
make  reply.  While  the  outrages  were  being  perpetrated, 
the  people  of  the  North  generally  held  Mr.  Davis  respon 
sible  for  all  of  them,  on  the  principle  heretofore  stated ; 
but  towards  the  close  of  the  war,  and  during  the  ten 
years  following  the  war,  public  opinion  greatly  changed, 
until  few,  if  any,  held  him  longer  responsible ;  and  now 
there  are  not  probably  ten  men  in  the  whole  United  States, 
of  such  as  know  anything  of  the  facts,  who  hold  him 
personally  responsible  for  these  outrages. 

Our  informant  thought  the  responsibility  lay  most,  if 
not  wholly,  with  the  officers  in  immediate  command  of 
these  prisons  and  camps.  That,  while  food  was  undoubt 
edly  scarce  in  the  Confederacy,  still  he  believed  the  pris 
oners  did  not  get  all  that  the  government  allowed  and 
paid  for;  that  while  charged  only  with  the  safe-keeping 
of  the  prisoners,  the  officers  in  command  went  far  beyond 
this,  and  made  security  a  pretext  for  severity ;  that  they 
were  malicious,  vindictive,  devilish,  and,  while  dressed  in 
a  "  little  brief  authority,"  allowed  these  traits  of  their  own 
characters  to  have  full  play  in  torturing  those  committed 
to  their  keeping.  If  this,  or  half  of  this,  be  true,  God 
have  pity  on  their  souls  when  they  stand,  as  all  must, 
before  Christ's  judgment-seat ! 


110 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

GUERILLAS   ON   THE   WAR-PATH. 

CUNNING     AND     DUPLICITY     PROMPTING     THE     ACTORS.  —  DE 
STRUCTION   IN   THE   BACKGROUND. 


remark  is  attributed  to  General  Grant  that  he  had 
1  "  less  dread  of  the  whole  of  General  Lee's  army 
than  of  Colonel  Moseby's  cavalry."  To  one  unacquainted 
with  the  irregular,  predatory  mode  of  warfare  of  these 
bands,  such  a  remark,  from  such  a  source,  would  seem 
impossible;  but  when  it  is  known  that  cunning,  deception, 
downright  lying,  and  any  amount  of  cruelty  needed  to 
their  ends,  were  principles  and  practices  which  they  re 
garded  as  fair  ;  that  they  did  not  hold  themselves  amen 
able  to  army  regulations,  nor  to  the  law  of  nations,  but 
were  in  all  cases  a  "  law  unto  themselves,"  then  the  won 
der  ceases,  and  we  can  understand  that  even  so  fearless 
and  so  wise  a  general  as  Grant  might  have  made  just 
such  a  remark. 

During  the  war  the  newspapers  of  the  whole  country 
had  considerable  to  say  about  Mosebyand  his  marauding 
band  ;  and,  since  the  war,  all  who  have  written  histories 
have  had  more  or  less  to  say  about  him  ;  and  yet  not  the 
one-hundredth  part  of  his  depredations  have  ever  been 
recorded,  nor  is  there  one  in  a  thousand,  either  North  or 
South,  who  know  how  his  band  was  organized,  how  they 
operated,  or  what  were  the  results,  except  in  a  few  cases, 
of  their  operations.  With  our  army  experience  of  nearly 
three  years,  and  with  all  our  reading  of  newspapers  and 
histories,  we  admit  to  have  known  nothing,  or  next  to 

in 


112     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

nothing,  of  the  plan  on  which  his  band  was  organized, 
of  the  principles  on  which  they  operated,  and  of  the  ter 
rible  results  of  those  operations  until  quite  recently.  It 
chanced,  not  long  since,  that  we  met  a  gentleman  who 
was  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  army  during  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  war,  who  was  personally  acquainted  with 
Colonel  Moseby  and  many  of  his  men,  and  who  had  from 
their  own  lips  carefully  detailed  accounts  of  many  of  their 
daring  exploits,  at  a  time  when  they  gloried  in  them  and 
delighted  to  tell  them  to  their  friends ;  and  whose  personal 
relations  with  President  Davis,  Adjutant- General  Cooper, 
and  others  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  knowing  what 
was  going  on  behind  the  scenes,  as  well  as  upon  the  stage. 
From  him  we  gathered  most  of  the  following  facts,  and 
as  many  of  them  have  never  been  published  before,  we 
are  sure  they  will  be  of  great  interest,  as  showing  another 
phase  of  the  acts  going  on  behind  the  scenes  while  the 
armies  of  the  Union  and  of  the  Confederacy  were  fighting 
their  battles  on  the  public  stage,  with  all  the  world  as 
spectators. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  Con 
federate  government  troops  were  called  out  by  proclama 
tion  of  the  President,  the  same  as  at  the  North.  But  that, 
after  a  time,  as  the  war  progressed  and  volunteering  be 
came  less  and  less,  conscription  had  to  be  resorted  to,  and, 
finally,  that  every  man  at  all  able  to  bear  arms  was  called 
into  the  service. 

Early  in  the  war  Colonel  Moseby  proposed  to  the  Con 
federate  War  Department  to  raise  a  company  for  "  special 
and  independent  service,"  meaning  guerilla  service,  though 
of  course  he  did  not  use  a  word  so  objectionable  in  mak 
ing  the  application.  He  was  then  a  practising  lawyer  in  a 
small  town  in  Western  Virginia,  and  wanted  to  keep  up 
his  own  dignity  as  well  as  that  of  his  profession.  The 
War  Department  granted  his  request,  and  in  a  little  while 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  113 

his  company  was  full.  Finding  others  eager  to  join  him, 
as  the  young  men  of  his  own  and  of  adjoining  counties 
much  preferred  to  join  an  "independent"  command  than 
go  into  the  Confederate  army  (and  they  soon  found  they 
must  do  one  or  the  other),  he  next  proposed  to  the  War 
Department  to  raise  a  regiment  on  the  same  basis.  This, 
too,  was  granted  him,  and  in  due  time  he  had  about  fifteen 
hundred  men  on  his  muster-rolls,  divided  up  into  compa 
nies,  each  with  its  captain,  lieutenants,  sergeants,  etc., 
many  of  whom  were  not  known  to  the  general  public, 
nor  scarcely  beyond  their  immediate  friends  and  relatives. 
All  his  officers  and  all  his  men  lived  at  their  homes,  on 
their  farms,  in  their  offices,  in  their  stores,  in  their  work 
shops,  pursuing  their  usual  vocations ;  but  each  was  care 
ful  to  carry,  concealed  about  his  person,  a  certificate  show 
ing  that  he  belonged  to  Colonel  Moseby's  regiment  of 
"  independent "  cavalry,  so  that  if  called  upon  by  a  con 
scripting  officer  he  could  at  once  show  that  he  was  already 
in  the  service.  The  regiment  was  called  "  independent," 
and  was  really  so,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  attached  to  no 
brigade,  division,  or  corps,  but  operated  and  cooperated 
with  other  commands  only  as  chance  happened  to  throw 
them  together.  His  orders  came  from  the  President,  or 
the  War  Department,  through  Adjutant-General  Cooper, 
who  directed  him  whom  to  obey  as  his  superior  officer 
for  the  time  being,  and  to  whom  to  report  at  any  time  for 
special  duty.  Many,  a  great  many,  of  his  acts,  however, 
were  done  purely  on  his  own  volition,  on  his  own  respon 
sibility,  and  without  orders  from  any  superior  officer,  nor 
were  these  acts  always  approved  by  those  at  the  seat  of 
government.  Two  or  three  times  he  was  summoned  to 
Richmond  to  answer  complaints  lodged  against  him  ;  but 
such  was  the  influence  he  exerted  with  members  of  the 
Confederate  Congress,  through  members  of  his  regiment, 
many  of  whom  were  the  sons  or  near  relatives  of  some 

10*  H 


114     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

of  the  most  wealthy  and  most  influential  families  of  Vir 
ginia,  that  each  time  he  came  off  scot-free,  and  was 
worse  after  than  before. 

His  ordinary  manner  of  operating  was  as  follows :  His 
officers  and  men,  as  before  stated,  lived  at  home,  and 
were  only  known  as  citizens,  pursuing  their  ordinary 
vocations ;  and,  for  the  last  two  years  of  the  war,  a  con 
siderable  number,  probably  more  than  half,  lived  within 
the  Union  lines,  and  called  themselves  "  Union  "  men. 
From  and  after  the  time  when  the  Rapidan  River  became 
the  line  of  the  two  armies  this  was  especially  so ;  and 
after  that  time  nearly  all  his  operations  lay  between  the 
Rapidan  and  the  Potomac,  mostly  in  the  counties  of 
Loudon,  Fauquier,  Shenandoah,  and  Rockingham.  Oc 
casionally  he  would  cross  the  Potomac  into  Maryland, 
and  operate  at  points  between  Cumberland  City  and  the 
Great  Falls. 

When  from  officers  and  members  of  his  own  regiment 
living  within  the  Union  lines,  or  from  others,  he  would 
learn  of  the  contemplated  movements  of  certain  supply- 
trains,  of  certain  paymasters,  of  certain  small  squads  on 
special  duty,  he  would  at  once  issue  orders  to  enough  of 
his  men  to  meet  him  at  a  particular  house,  or  a  particular 
cross-roads,  at  ten  or  twelve  o'clock  of  a  particular  night, 
fully  armed,  equipped,  and  mounted  for  the  service  in 
which  they  were  about  to  engage.  Sometimes  the  num 
ber  ordered  out  would  be  ten,  sometimes  twenty,  some 
times  fifty,  and  sometimes  a  whole  company  or  more, 
according  to  the  force  which  they  expected  to  meet  and 
overcome.  Only  when  ordered  to  join  and  cooperate 
with  some  general  commanding  officer,  would  he  call  out 
his  whole  available  force.  He  had  no  fixed  headquarters, 
but  his  officers  and  men  always  knew  exactly  where  to 
communicate  with  him,  as  he  always  knew  exactly  where 
to  find  them  ;  and  when  he  issued  an  order  it  was  speedily 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  11$ 

conveyed  from  lip  to  lip,  and  seldom  failed  to  meet  with 
the  expected  response.  He  and  his  men  were  all  the 
while  on  the  alert,  and  seldom  failed  to  take  prompt  ad 
vantage  of  any  opportunity  that  offered.  His  own  men 
not  unfrequently  applied  for  (as  farmers'  sons  living  in  the 
neighborhood)  and  obtained  temporary  employment  as 
team-drivers,  blacksmiths,  farriers,  etc.,  in  the  Union 
army,  and  in  this  way  secured  information  in  advance  of 
every  contemplated  movement,  whether  of  the  army,  of 
supplies,  or  of  detachments  on  special  service.  As  soon 
as  such  information  was  obtained,  it  was  conveyed  from 
lip  to  lip,  until  it  reached  the  ears  of  Colonel  Moseby. 
Then  he  would  decide  whether  a  raid  was  practicable  or 
not;  and  if  it  was,  the  needed  number  of  men  were  sum 
moned  to  meet  him  at  a  certain  place  at  a  set  time. 

To  get  through  the  line  of  Union  sentinels  without 
alarming  the  whole  Union  army,  he  had  numerous  strat 
agems.  Having  men  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  he  knew 
the  exact  location  of  every  post,  just  the  hour  at  which 
each  sentinel  was  placed  and  relieved,  and  the  precise 
strength  of  the  squad  or  company,  and  where  located, 
from  which  each  sentinel  was  detached.  Where  only  a 
single  sentinel  needed  to  be  removed,  to  allow  him  and 
his  squad  to  pass  in  and  out  of  the  Union  lines,  he  was 
stealthily  pounced  upon,  disarmed,  killed,  or  otherwise 
taken  care  of.  If  more  than  one  needed  removing,  the 
same  operation  might  be  practised  on  two  or  more. 
Where  a  whole  squad  or  company  needed  to  be  gobbled 
up,  he  had  enough  of  his  men  to  quietly  surround  them, 
and,  at  the  blowing  of  a  whistle  or  other  signal,  suddenly 
pounce  upon  and  take  them  all  prisoners,  usually  without 
the  firing  of  a  gun,  or  with  scarcely  a  word  spoken  above  a 
whisper.  Secrecy,  celerity,  and  "  dead  men  tell  no  tales," 
were  his  maxims — and  most  fearfully  did  he  put  these 
maxims  into  practice.  It  would  fill  this  entire  volume  to 


Il6     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

tell  all  the  times ;  but  the  following  instances,  selected 
from  the  many,  some  of  which  have  and  some  of  which 
never  have  been  told  before^  will  fully  corroborate  all  that 
we  have  heretofore  said,  and  show  the  terrible  character 
of  the  warfare  carried  on  by  this  class  of  men  behind  the 
scenes,  while  the  Union  and  Confederate  armies  were  con 
tending  for  the  mastery  in  front  of  the  scenes. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1863,  Moseby's  guerillas 
were  exceedingly  active.  Almost  every  night  they  had 
some  enterprise  on  hand,  large  or  small,  and  while  most 
of  them  were  of  such  a  character  as  to  excite  but  little 
attention  and  no  alarm,  yet  now  and  then  one  would  occur 
of  so  startling  a  nature,  and  of  so  villanous  a  character, 
as  to  arouse  all  who  heard  of  it,  and  make  every  honest 
man  wish  that  the  perpetrators  could  be  caught  and  hung 
higher  than  Haman.  The  first  we  purpose  to  relate  was 
of  this  character,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  this  will  be  its 
first  publication  in  historic  form,  though  well  known  at 
the  time  by  everybody  in  the  neighborhood,  and  by  offi 
cers  in  both  armies. 

The  position  of  Maryland  during  the  war  was  exceed 
ingly  perplexing.  Lying,  as  it  does,  midway  between 
the  North  and  the  South,  her  soil  was  traversed  by  both 
armies,  and  her  people  were  constantly  subjected  to  an 
noyance,  if  not  to  danger,  from  both  Union  and  Confed 
erate  troops.  As  a  slaveholding  State,  the  sympathies  of 
her  people  were  mostly  with  the  Southern  cause,  and  yet 
the  business  relations  of  many  of  her  citizens  with  the 
people  of  the  North,  and  her  contiguity  to  Pennsylvania, 
had  made  many  of  her  citizens  strongly  in  favor  of  main 
taining  the  Union.  A  considerable  number  of  her  citizens 
had  joined  the  Confederate  army;  a  considerable  number 
had  joined  the  Union  army ;  while  those  who  stayed  at 
home  endeavored  to  remain  as  nearly  neutral  as  possible. 
To  a  Northern  man  or  a  Union  soldier,  they  were  all  for 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  II/ 

the  Union ;  to  a  Southern  man  or  a  Confederate  soldier, 
they  were  all  for  Jefferson  Davis  and  the  Confederacy ;  to 
one  who  did  not  care  a  fig  which  side  won,  they  were 
quite  as  indifferent  as  he  dared  be.  Moseby  and  his  mid 
night  marauders  seemed  to  have  taken,  for  some  cause,  a 
special  dislike  to  the  Marylanders,  and  the  first  four 
instances  we  purpose  to  give  occurred  on  that  side  of 
the  Potomac. 

Mr.  B.  (our  informant  had  forgotten  the  name,  though 
he  had  been  at  the  place  and  was  entirely  familiar  with 
the  incident,  having  obtained  it  from  the  lips  of  one  who 
was  a  participant) — Mr.  B.  was  a  quiet,  inoffensive  old 
man,  who  endeavored  to  live  at  peace  with  everybody, 
and  who  was  probably  as  little  of  a  partisan  as  any  man 
in  the  State.  He  seldom,  if  ever,  talked  upon  politics, 
rarely  about  the  war,  and,  when  upon  either,  was  always 
careful  to  do  it  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  offend  his  listener. 
He  kept  a  small  country  store  at  a  point  where  two  roads 
crossed  each  other,  and  was  as  ready  to  exchange  his 
coffee,  sugar,  or  molasses,  his  calicoes,  hardware,  or 
queensware,  for  country  produce  or  for  money,  with  a 
Confederate  as  with  a  Union  man,  or  with  a  Union  man 
as  with  a  Confederate,  There  was  no  village  about  his 
store,  not  even  the  usual  accompaniments  of  a  black 
smith-  and  wheelwright-shop. 

Moseby  had  taken  a  dislike  to  this  man.  Why,  it  is  not 
known,  except  it  be  that  he  sold  his  goods  to  Union  men 
and  Union  soldiers,  as  well  as  to  Confederates,  when 
opportunity  offered.  So  far  as  is  known,  the  man  had 
never  given  any  personal  offence  to  Moseby  or  his  men, 
though  they  had  several  times  visited  his  store,  usually, 
if  not  always,  in  disguise ;  and  we  may  here  add,  once  for 
all,  that  when  Moseby  or  his  men  were  moving  about 
within  the  Union  lines  on  spying  expeditions,  they  were 
always  in  disguise,  and  when  they  went  to  perpetrate  a 


Il8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

diabolical  act,  they  always  had  their  faces  blackened,  or 
were  otherwise  in  mask. 

On  a  dark  night,  or  rather  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  in  August,  1863,  ten  of  Moseby's  gang  approached 
this  store.  One  of  the  men  was  lifted  up  to,  and  crept 
in  at,  a  window,  and,  going  to  the  front  door,  unlocked  and 
opened  it,  that  some  might  enter  while  others  remained 
on  the  outside  as  sentinels.  Closing  and  locking  the  door, 
that  there  might  be  no  escape  of  the  inmates,  they  struck 
a  light  and  then  commenced  a  search  for  persons.  They 
soon  found  the  old  man  (the  owner),  two  young  men 
(his  clerks  or  assistants),  and  a  negro  boy,  all  of  whom 
had  been  asleep  in  the  house  adjoining,  or  in  the  second 
story  of  the  store.  As  there  were  no  women  in  the  house, 
it  is  probable  that  he  and  his  clerks  had  kept  "  bachelors' 
hall."  Of  course  the  proprietor,  clerks,  and  negro  boy 
were  very  much  alarmed  at  seeing  these  men  with  black 
ened  faces  before  them,  and  inquired  what  it  all  meant? 
They  were  quickly  informed  that  it  meant  death  to  them, 
and  a  burning  of  the  building,  with  all  its  contents.  All 
commenced  to  plead  forlheir  lives,  fell  upon  their  knees, 
and  besought  their  captors  to  spare  their  lives  at  least, 
whatever  other  punishment  or  destruction  they  might 
think  proper  to  inflict ;  but  the  more  they  plead,  the  more 
deaf  and  the  more  lost  to  every  sense  of  humanity  their 
captors  seemed  to  become.  Taking  some  trace-chains 
which  they  found  in  the  store,  the  old  man,  the  two  young 
men,  and  the  negro  boy  were  bound,  hand  and  foot,  and 
then  secured  to  a  post  or  some  other  fixed  thing  within 
the  store.  The  only  reason  their  captors  would  give  for 

all  this  was  that  they  were  "  d d  Yankees,"  that  they 

had  "  supplied  Union  soldiers  with  food  and  clothing," 
that  they  were  "  traitors  to  the  South,"  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  all 
of  which  was  interspersed  with  most  horrid  oaths  and 
curses.  When  all  four  had  been  securely  bound,  gagged, 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH. 

and  fastened,  and  their  captors  had  helped  themselves  to 
whatever  they  wanted  of  the  articles  in  the  store,  they 
left  the  building,  and  in  a  few  moments  thereafter  it  was 
in  flames.  Had  the  bound  captives  within  not  been  gagged 
they  would  have  almost  raised  the  dead  with  their  cries ; 
but,  as  it  was,  nothing  was  heard  save  the  fierce  crackling 
of  the  flames,  and  in  a  little  while  the  building  and  its 
contents  lay  in  ashes,  mingled  and  intermingled  with  the 
bones  of  the  four  victims.  Again  Moseby's  oft-repeated 
maxims  had  found  a  terrible  illustration,  "  Dead  men  tell 
no  tales  " — "  Dead  men  never  bite !  " 

The  next  instance  of  the  doings  of  this  gang  of  des 
peradoes  which  we  purpose  to  relate,  occurred  not  long 
after,  near  Shepherdstown,  MdM  and  was  of  a  much  milder 
type  of  villany.  We  relate  it  here  that  our  readers  may 
see,  by  contrast,  that  these  murdering  guerillas  were  as 
ready  to  do  small,  mean  things,  as  great,  horrid  things; 
and  that  personal  malice  and  personal  advantage,  rather 
than  advantage  to  the  Southern  Confederacy,  were  some 
times  the  incentives  to  their  acts. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Phillips,  though  a  Marylander,  was 
from  the  beginning  of  the  agitation  a  strong  Union  man, 
and,  when  volunteers  were  called  for  from  Maryland,  did 
not  hesitate  a  moment  to  offer  his  services  in  the  Union 
cause,  and  became  lieutenant-colonel  of  one  of  the  Union 
Maryland  regiments.  He  left  at  home,  in  care  of  his 
father,  a  very  fine  horse.  Colonel  Moseby  heard  of  this 
horse,  and  determined  to  become  its  possessor,  With 
blackened  faces,  he,  or  some  of  his  men,  went  to  the  Phillips' 
farm  at  night,  stole  the  horse,  and  returned  to  Virginia 
the  same  night.  The  fact  soon  after  came  to  the  ears  of 
a  chivalrous  Confederate  officer,  who  had  known  Lieuten 
ant-Colonel  Phillips  when  at  the  same  college  with  him 
self,  and  who,  though  not  liking  Phillips  now,  disliked 
meanness  still  more.  He  informed  General  Breckinridge, 


I2O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  afterwards  General  Lee,  of  the  theft.  General  Lee 
regarded  such  an  act  as  a  disgrace  to  the  whole  Confeder 
ate  army,  and  at  once  sent  a  written  order  to  Colonel 
Moseby  to  restore  the  horse.  Colonel  Moseby  demurred, 
and  tried  to  excuse  the  act  as  a  legitimate  capture  from  a 
well-known  enemy;  but  General  Lee  was  not  to  be  de 
ceived  by  any  such  sophistry,  and  insisted  upon  the  return 
of  the  horse.  The  horse  was  returned ! 

The  next  instance,  which  occurred  near  Williamsport, 
Md.,  not  long  after,  was  of  a  far  blacker  and  more  diabolical 
character.  A  farmer  living  near  this  place,  and  known 
as  a  "  Dunkard,"  was  believed  to  have  considerable  quan 
tities  of  gold  and  silver  laid  away  in  pots  and  stocking- 
legs  about  his  house.  He  was  not  only  a  "  neutral  "  in 
politics  and  with  regard  to  the  war,  but  his  religion  made 
him  a  non-combatant  as  well.  Confederates,  of  course, 
denounced  him  as  a  traitor  to  the  Southern  cause,  and 
thought  he  should  at  least  contribute  his  money,  if  not 
his  life,  to  defend  it.  He  would  sa.y  nothing,  do  nothing, 
no  matter  what  others  might  say  or  do.  One  dark  night 
three  masked  men  came  to  his  house,  murdered  him,  and 
took  his  money.  They  were  not  recognized,  not  traced, 
nor  did  any  one  then  find  out,  nor  does  any  one  now  know, 
who  really  did  the  deed ;  but  it  was  then  believed,  and  is  still 
believed,  that  Moseby's  guerilla  band  were  the  perpetrators. 

That  same  fall  another  instance  occurred,  in  which 
Moseby's  guerillas  were  certainly  the  actors,  and  which 
was  of  a  much  more  warlike  character. 

To  cut  off,  gobble  up,  capture,  or  destroy  paymasters 
and  their  escorts,  quartermaster  trains,  and  commissary 
trains,  Colonel  Moseby  regarded  as  his  special  and  par 
ticular  province,  and  every  one  of  his  men  was  on  the 
special  look-out  for  chances  of  this  kind.  On  the  occa 
sion  now  under  consideration,  Brevet  Major  Paymaster 
Tilletson  was  on  his  way  from  Williamsport  to  Shepherds- 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  121 

town,  Md,  accompanied  by  a  captain,  three  lieutenants, 
and  six  privates — the  latter  and  one  lieutenant  as  an  es 
cort,  the  other  officers  returning  to  their  respective  com 
mands  from  sick-leaves.  Suddenly,  without  a  moment's 
warning,  Moseby,  with  a  number  of  his  gang,  sprang  out 
upon  them,  and,  holding  a  cocked  pistol  at  the  head  of 
each,  demanded  their  surrender.  Of  course,  they  could 
do  nothing  but  submit.  Each  officer  was  securely  bound, 
while  the  privates  were  either  killed  or  made  their  escape. 
In  due  time  the  whole  party  arrived  within  the  Confed 
erate  lines,  when  the  Union  officers  would  probably  have 
been  made  to  illustrate  Moseby's  maxim,  that  "  dead  men 
tell  no  tales,"  had  not  an  officer  who  had  his  authority 
direct  from  the  War  Department  met  him  and  ordered 
him  to  send  the  prisoners  to  Richmond.  Moseby  and  his 
men  helped  themselves  to  so  much  of  the  greenbacks  as 
they  could  conveniently  carry,  while  tens  of  thousands  of 
dollars  were  found  next  day  scattered  along  the  road  be 
tween  Williamsport  and  Shepherdstown. 

Not  long  after  the  capture  just  related,  Moseby  and  his 
men  gobbled  up  another  squad  of  officers,  consisting  of  one 
major,  two  captains,  and  three  lieutenants,  who  had  been 
absent  on  sick-leaves  and  were  then  returning  to  their 
respective  commands.  After  they  had  surrendered  as 
prisoners  of  war,  their  money,  watches,  and  everything 
they  had  of  any  value  was  taken  from  them.  When  fairly 
within  the  Confederate  lines  they  were  taken  into  a  dense 
pine-grove,  some  distance  off  the  road,  and  then  told  they 
were  all  to  be  hung  so  soon  as  the  needed  preparations 
could  be  made.  Had  a  thunderbolt  fallen  at  their  feet 
from  a  clear  sky,  these  six  Union  officers  could  not  have 
been  more  surprised.  All  protested  against  such  unmili- 
tary,  unusual,  inhuman  treatment — some  begged  for  life, 
some  wept ;  but  the  only  reply  they  could  get  from  Moseby 
was,  "  Prepare  for  death ! "  Providentially,  as  it  would 
ii 


122     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

seem,  one  young  man  of  Moseby's  band  had  a  "  heart  of 
flesh,"  and  determined,  if  possible,  to  save  the  lives  of 
these  officers.  He  knew  that  an  officer  who  had  the  au 
thority  to  command  Moseby  (the  same  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  incident)  was  at  a  farm-house  only  a  few  miles 
from  the  pine-grove  in  which  they  had  stopped  for  tem 
porary  encampment,  and  where  these  Union  officers  were 
to  be  executed.  Slipping  away  from  his  comrades,  he 
hastened  to  the  farm-house  to  tell  this  officer  of  what 
Moseby  proposed  to  do.  So  soon  as  the  officer  was  told, 
he  determined  to  stop  it,  if  they  could  only  reach  there 
before  the  men  were  executed.  The  officer  and  private 
mounted  fresh  horses,  borrowed  from  the  farmer,  and  rode 
with  breakneck  speed  until  they  reached  the  grove.  It 
was  quite  dark,  but  the  camp-fires  of  Moseby  and  his  men 
lighted  them  to  the  spot.  Springing  from  his  horse  at 
the  edge  of  the  grove,  the  officer  left  the  two  horses  in 
care  of  the  young  man  and  hastened  to  where  he  saw  the 
camp-fire  burning.  Stopping  for  a  moment  to  survey  the 
scene  before  making  his  presence  known,  he  observed  the 
six  Union  officers  seated  on  a  log  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  fire  from  where  he  stood,  each  with  head  dropped 
upon  his  breast,  each  with  eyes  glaring  wildly  into  va 
cancy  or  suffused  with  tears,  each  with  lips  pale  with  fear 
or  moving  in  silent  prayer,  and  each  the  very  picture  of 
despair  in  feature  and  attitude.  Moseby  was  walking  to 
and  fro  in  front  of  them,  uttering  oaths  and  imprecations 
against  them ;  guards  stood  about  them  or  walked  their 
rounds  silently ;  while  only  a  little  way  off,  in  plain  sight, 
others  were  busy  throwing  over  or  affixing  ropes  to 
limbs  preparatory  for  execution.  It  was  a  scene  which 
only  the  pencil  of  a  Raphael  might  have  sketched  or  a 
Correggio  have  painted. 

The  officer,  having  fully  surveyed  and  comprehended 
the  whole  scene,  suddenly  sprang  from  the  darkness  into 


124 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  125 

the  light  of  the  camp-fire,  and  in  a  sharp  tone  demanded 
of  Colonel  Moseby  what  all  this  meant. 

"  You  see  what  it  means,"  Moseby  replied,  pointing  to 
the  men  who  were  affixing  the  ropes  to  the  trees. 

"  Who  are  these  prisoners,  and  what  have  they  done 
that  you  propose  to  hang  them  ?  "  asked  the  officer. 

"  They  are  d — d  Yankee  officers  whom  I  captured  this 
afternoon,  and  purpose  to  hang  them  to-night.  Dead  men 
never  bite,"  answered  Moseby. 

"  I  purpose,"  said  the  officer,  "  that  you  do  no  such 
thing;  that  these  officers  be  sent  under  guard  to  Richmond, 
and  that  you  yourself  report  there  at  once  under  arrest." 

Of  course  a  good  deal  more  was  said,  and  a  great  many 
oaths  uttered  on  both  sides,  but  the  above  is  about  the 
substance.  The  Union  officers  heard  and  saw  all  that 
was  said  and  done,  but  were  so  dumbfounded  that  they 
could  not  say  a  word  or  utter  a  cry  even  to  each  other. 
When  they  did  finally  comprehend  it  all,  they  regarded 
their  deliverer  as  one  sent  from  heaven,  and  were  ready 
to  fall  down  and  worship  him.  The  transition  from  death 
to  life  was  so  sudden,  so  unexpected,  that  it  was  some 
time  before  they  could  fully  realize  whether  they  were  in 
the  body  or  out  of  the  body,  whether  their  natural  senses 
were  still  of  the  earth,  earthy,  or  whether  they  had  been 
suddenly  translated  to  another  sphere,  where  angels  only 
sing  "  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  towards  men ! " 

In  pursuance  of  the  commanding  officer's  orders,  the 
six  Union  officers  were  next  day  forwarded,  as  prisoners 
of  war,  to  Richmond ;  while  Moseby  himself  soon  after 
reported  at  the  Adjutant  General's  office  under  arrest,  to 
await  such  action  as  the  authorities  might  think  proper  in 
his  case.  And  thus,  and  thus,  were  the  lives  of  six  more 
men  saved  from  the  infernal  clutch  and  ravenous  maw  of 
this  hyena  in  human  form. 

Not  many  days  after,  the  same  officer  who  had  released 


126     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

from  Moseby's  clutch  the  six  Union  officers  above  spoken 
of,  chanced  to  be  riding  along  a  public  highway  when  he 
observed,  at  considerable  distance  off,  in  a  deep  gully,  a 
man  entirely  naked,  dodging  from  place  to  place,  as  if  in 
fear  or  distress.  The  sight  was  so  strange  that  the  officer 
turned  his  horse's  head  and  quickly  rode  to  the  place 
where  he  had  first  seen  the  man.  Here  he  found  not  the 
one  only,  but  three,  all  entirely  naked,  and  all  huddled  to 
gether,  as  if  to  protect  themselves  from  each  other's  sight 
The  officer  demanded  what  it  all  meant.  It  was  some 
moments  before  the  men  could  answer  at  all,  but  when 
they  did,  they  told  the  Confederate  officer  that  they  were 
three  Union  officers  who  had  been  gobbled  up  the  day 
before  by  Moseby's  guerillas,  stripped  of  everything  they 
had  on  earth,  even  to  their  shirts,  and  then  left  in  that 
woods  or  ravine  to  do  as  best  they  might,  with  the  warn 
ing,  however,  that  if  they  made  the  least  alarm  they  would 
be  again  caught  and  either  hung  or  shot ;  that  they  had 
feared  to  approach  any  house  in  their  nude  state,  lest  they 
might  be  shot  at  as  ghosts  or  wild  men ;  that  they  had 
not  had  a  morsel  of  food  for  a  long  time,  and  that  even 
death  was  preferable  to  longer  enduring  such  suspense 
and  torture.  The  officer  had  seen  inhumanity  in  almost 
every  possible  shape,  but  this,  he  said,  was  a  refinement 
of  cruelty  which  shocked  him  more  than  anything  he  had 
ever  seen  before.  He  went  to  a  house,  not  far  off,  and 
obtained  shirts  for  two,  and  a  woman's  chemise  for  one, 
with  such  other  clothing  as  they  chanced  to  have.  Thus, 
partially  dressed,  he  then  took  them  to  the  house,  where 
they  remained  while  the  officer  went  to  other  houses  of 
the  neighborhood  to  get  enough  additional  clothing  to 
cover  their  nakedness.  He  then  had  them  accompany 
him  to  the  nearest  military  command,  where  he  turned 
them  over  as  regular  prisoners  of  war.  And  thus  were 
three  more  clutched  from  the  grasp  of  these  bloodthirsty 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  I2/ 

hyenas.  Clutched  from  death,  too,  for  had  they  not  been 
seen  and  rescued  by  this  officer,  they  would,  in  all  human 
probability,  have  been  sought  for  by  the  guerillas  next 
day,  and  either  shot  or  hung. 

There  was  no  month,  and  probably  but  few  weeks  or 
days,  during  the  entire  war  that  Moseby's  guerillas  were 
not  planning  or  executing  some  villanous  enterprise 
against  the  Union  army  or  Union  men ;  but  we  have 
room  only  for  a  few  more,  and  these  we  will  select  from 
his  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  and  vicinity 
during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1864. 

In  August,  1864,  General  Sheridan  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  Middle  Military  Division,  comprising 
the  Middle  Department  and  the  Departments  of  Wash 
ington,  the  Susquehanna,  and  West  Virginia.  Occupying 
the  Shenandoah  Valley,  in  front  of  Sheridan,  General 
Early  lay,  with  about  eighteen  thousand  Confederate 
troops.  To  drive  these  troops  out  of,  or  at  least  further 
up,  the  Valley,  and  to  keep  them  so  employed  that  no 
part  of  them  should  be  detached  from  Early  to  send  to 
Hood  in  his  defence  of  Atlanta  against  the  attack  of 
Sherman,  was  Sheridan's  first  concern  during  the  summer 
and  fall  of  '64.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  on  the  loth 
of  August,  Sheridan  began  to  move  out  his  forces  from 
Halltown  for  the  possession  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
When  Early's  positions  were  reached,  he  fell  back,  and 
continued  to  fall  back,  until  he  reached  Fisher's  Hill, 
beyond  Strasburg.  In  pursuing  Early,  Sheridan  had 
passed  several  gaps  in  the  mountains  which  skirt  the 
Valley,  and  left  them  unguarded.  Moseby,  learning  of 
this,  hastily  got  together  as  many  of  his  guerillas  as 
possible,  dashed  through  Snicker's  Gap  on  the  1 3th, 
struck  Sheridan's  supply-train,  which  was  only  guarded 
by  Kenly's  brigade  of  one  hundred  days'  men,  at  Berry- 
ville,  and,  before  the  guard  had  fairly  recovered  from  the 


128     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

panic,  Moseby  had  captured  the  entire  train,  consisting  of 
seventy-five  wagons,  from  five  to  six  hundred  horses  and 
mules,  two  hundred  beef  cattle,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
stores.  He  also  secured  over  two  hundred  prisoners. 
His  own  loss  was  only  two  killed  and  three  wounded. 

The  attack  and  loss  were  so  sudden,  so  unexpected,  and 
so  exaggerated  in  the  telling  from  one  soldier  to  another, 
that  they  seemed  for  the  moment  to  paralyze  Sheridan's 
entire  army ;  so  much  so  that  he  deemed  it  expedient  to 
make  a  retrograde  movement,  which  he  continued  until 
he  reached,  on  the  2 1st  of  August,  a  position  about  two 
miles  out  from  Charlestown.  While  Sheridan  was  thus 
falling  back  from  day  to  day,  Moseby's  guerillas  hung 
upon  his  rear  and  flanks,  treacherously  capturing  and 
killing  whenever  opportunity  offered.  In  one  instance, 
it  is  alleged,  after  taking  some  Union  cavalrymen  pris 
oners  ;  after,  indeed,  they  had  fully  surrendered  as  pris 
oners  of  war  and  been  disarmed,  Moseby  ordered  every  one 
of  them  brutally  murdered  on  the  spot,  in  pursuance  of 
his  maxim  that  "  dead  men  never  bite."  In  retaliation 
for  this  terrible  outrage,  Sheridan  ordered  that  from 
thenceforth  every  house  and  barn  of  these  half-guerillas, 
half-farmers  in  the  Valley,  that  could  possibly  be  reached 
by  his  cavalrymen,  should  be  destroyed. 

Not  only  in  retaliation  for  this  one  act,  but  for  scores 
of  other  acts  of  a  like  or  worse  character,  of  which  they 
were  cognizant,  and  with  a  view  to  strike  terror  into  the 
minds  of  such  men  as  had  been,  and  still  were,  harboring 
and  encouraging  these  guerillas — men  who  were  farmers 
by  day  and  robbers  by  night — both  General  Grant  and 
General  Sheridan  determined  to  inaugurate  a  wholesale 
system  of  devastation  in  the  localities  where  these  out 
rages  had  been  mostly  carried  on — especially  in  the  Vir 
ginia  counties  of  Shenandoah,  Rockingham,  Loudon,  and 
Fauquier.  As  a  result  of  this  policy — or,  more  properly 


GUERILLAS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH.  I2Q 

speaking,  as  a  result  of  the  outrages  which  had  been  perpe 
trated  by  Mosebys  guerillas  (for  the  policy  would  never 
have  been  thought  of  but  for  these  outrages) — the  fol 
lowing  destruction  of  property  is  reported  to  have  oc 
curred  in  the  four  counties  named,  between  the  1st  of 
October,  when  the  policy  was  inaugurated,  and  the  fore 
part  of  December  (1864),  when  Merritt's  cavalry  division 
crossed  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  made  a  grand  raid  through 
the  upper  part  of  Loudon  and  Fauquier  counties : 

In  Shenandoah  and  Rockingham  counties — according 
to  the  official  report  of  a  commissioner  of  the  revenue  to 
the  Richmond  authorities — "there  were  burned  18  dwell 
ing-houses,  215  barns,  n  grist-mills,  9  water  saw-mills, 
2  steam  saw-mills,  I  furnace,  2  forges,  I  fulling-mill,  be 
sides  a  number  of  smaller  buildings,  such  as  stables,  etc. 
The  quantity  of  grain  destroyed  is  immense.  I  cannot 
give  you  any  idea  of  the  amount  of  grain,  hay,  fodder, 
etc.,  destroyed,  but  the  quantity  is  very  large." 

In  Loudon  and  Fauquier  counties — according  to  the 
official  report  made  by  General  Sheridan  to  General  Grant 
at  the  time — the  property  burned  and  captured  was  as 
follows:  BURNED — barns,  1168;  mills,  49;  tanneries,  I; 
factories,  2 ;  distilleries,  6 ;  tons  of  hay,  27,620 ;  bushels 
of  wheat,  51,500;  bushels  of  corn,  62,900;  bushels  of 
oats,  2000;  haystacks,  1121;  wheatstacks,  57;  stacks  of 
other  grains,  104.  CAPTURED — horses,  388 ;  mules,  8 ; 
cattle,  5520;  sheep,  5837;  swine,  1141.  Total  estimated 
value  of  property  destroyed  and  captured  in  these  two 
counties,  $2,508,756. 

It  should  be  added,  as  a  further  reason  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  wheat,  corn,  hay,  etc.,  that  General  Lee  had  been 
drawing  his  supplies  largely  from  these  four  counties, 
and  it  was  therefore  for  the  purpose  of  crippling  Lee's 
army,  as  well  as  to  punish  these  farmers  for  harboring 

I 


I3O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  aiding  Moseby's  guerillas,  that  this  wholesale  de 
struction  of  property  was  planned  and  executed. 

Those  who  have  witnessed  the  distress  following  the 
burning  of  a  single  dwelling-house,  or  a  single  barn  with 
contents,  in  a  neighborhood  of  farmers,  can  form  some 
faint  idea  of  the  distress  which  must  have  followed  the 
burning  of  eighteen  dwelling-houses,  and  1383  barns, 
with  all  their  contents,  and  with  all  the  stacks  of  grain, 
hay,  and  fodder  surrounding  them !  Even  the  thought 
is  fearful, — how  much  more  the  reality  !  After  what  we 
have  related  of  the  operations  of  Moseby's  guerillas — 
and  what  we  have  told  is  not  a  hundredth  part  of  what 
might  be  told — none  of  our  readers,  we  think,  will  ques 
tion  the  propriety  of  the  caption  to  this  chapter,  "  GUE 
RILLAS  ON  THE  WAR-PATH — Cunning  and  Duplicity  Prompt 
ing  the  Actors  ;  "  nor,  after  learning  of  the  destruction  of 
property  which  followed,  will  any  one,  we  think,  question 
the  third  line  of  the  caption,  "Destruction  in  the  Back 
ground!" 


132 


CHAPTER    IX. 

WHAT  BECAME    OF  SLAVES  DURING  AND  AFTER  THE 

WAR. 


NEBER   SEED   *EM   ANY    MORE." 

IT  is  a  well-attested  fact,  that  there  were  many  less 
slaves,  or  those  who  had  been  slaves,  in  the  United 
States  on  the  Qth  of  April,  1865,  when  General  Lee  sur 
rendered  to  General  Grant,  near  the  Appomattox  Court- 
House,  than  when  the  war  commenced  by  the  firing  on 
Fort  Sumter,  on  the  I2th  of  April,  1861.  Had  there 
been  no  war,  and  had  the  ratio  of  increase  been  the  same 
from  1 86 1  to  1865  as  it  had  been  for  the  previous  four 
years,  there  would  have  been  several  hundred  thousand 
more  in  1865  than  there  were  in  1861. 

It  is  also  well  known  that  from  and  after  the  1st  of 
January,  1863,  when  President  Lincoln's  proclamation 
of  freedom  to  the  slave  —  issued  on  the  22d  of  Sep 
tember,  1862 — went  into  effect,  many  hundreds,  if  not 
thousands,  of  those  who  had  been  slaves  were  taken  into 
the  military  service  of  the  United  States ;  that,  when 
captured  by  the  Confederate  forces,  they  were  not  recog 
nized  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  in  many  cases,  as  at  Fort 
Pillow,  were  massacred  like  so  many  dogs ;  that  thousands 
were  destroyed  in  this  way,  and  that  many  other  thousands 
died  on  fields  of  battle ;  that  many  during  the  war  tried 
to  escape,  but,  being  overtaken,  were  killed  on  sight  by 
their  former  masters  or  their  agents ;  that  the  excessive 
amount  of  labor  which  they  were  compelled  to  perform 
'*  'S3 


134     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

for  their  masters  on  plantations,  and  for  the  Confederate 
government,  in  digging  rifle-pits  and  throwing  up  fortifi 
cations,  lessened  their  power  of  reproduction,  and  caused 
thousands  of  premature  deaths ;  but,  notwithstanding  all 
these  facts,  there  still  remains  a  very  large  number  to  be 
accounted  for;  and  to  account  for  these  in  part,  if  not 
wholly,  is  the  object  of  the  present  chapter. 

The  facts  which  we  shall  relate  in  this  connection  can 
not  fail  to  be  as  startling  to  our  readers  as  they  were  to 
us.  They  have  never  before  been  related,  either  in  book  or 
newspaper  form ;  nor  would  they  now  be,  but  that  time 
has  wiped  out  the  passions  of  the  war  and  the  limits  of 
personal  responsibility,  and  made  the  facts  legitimate  for 
the  purposes  of  history. 

That  our  readers  may  understand  that  no  animosity 
towards  the  South,  or  the  Southern  Confederacy,  nor  sym 
pathy  with  the  slave  in  any  way,  has  led  to  the  divulging 
of  these  facts,  we  may  say  that  Colonel  Abercrombie,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  facts,  is  a  Southern  man 
(a  Baltimorian)  by  birth,  and  from  his  earliest  recollection 
was  taught  to  look  upon  the  negro  as  a  different  race  from 
our  own — as  a  chattel,  to  be  bought  and  sold,  the  same 
as  a  horse  or  cow  ;  that  he  was  a  captain  in  the  Thirteenth 
United  States  Infantry  in  the  early  stages  of  the  war,  but, 
being  convinced  that  his  duty  lay  with  the  South,  re 
signed  his  commission  in  the  United  States  army,  went 
South,  joined  the  Confederate  service,  and  remained  as  an 
officer  in  that  service  until  the  close  of  the  war ;  and  that 
it  was  not  until  soon  after  the  war,  when  he  went  from 
New  York  to  Galveston  by  steamship,  and  from  Galveston 
travelled  nearly  all  over  Texas  on  horseback,  that  he  be 
came  fully  aware  of  the  facts  which  he  detailed  to  us,  and 
which  we  now  purpose  to  communicate  to  our  readers. 

The  Colonel,  Captain  Philip  Lander,  and  three  others, 
left  Galveston  for  Brownsville  about  the  middle  of  June, 


SLAVES    DURING    AND    AFTER    THE    WAR.        135 

1865.  From  Galveston  to  Houston  they  went  by  steam 
boat;  at  Houston  they  purchased  mules,  and  from  thence 
forth  pursued  their  journey  on  muleback.  At  Columbus 
they  found  a  considerable  number  of  Confederate  soldiers, 
who  had  belonged  to  General  Kirby  Smith's  command, 
and  were  then  on  their  way  to  their  homes.  At  Bastrop 
they  found  two  companies  of  United  States  volunteers 
doing  guard  duty.  At  Austin,  the  capital  of  the  State, 
they  found  General  Sturges  with  four  companies  of  the 
regiment  which  he  commanded,  the  Seventh  United  States 
Cavalry.  About  the  middle  of  July,  they  left  Austin  for 
San  Antonio.  On  the  road  they  saw  two  men  in  one 
place,  and  one  in  another,  hanging  by  the  neck  to  limbs 
of  trees,  who  had  been  strung  up  there  by  roving  banditti 
— probably  on  the  suspicion  that  they  were  Union  men — 
and  left  to  hang  there  as  a  warning  to  others.  At  San 
Antonio  they  found  General  Magruder,  who  claimed  that 
he  had  not  yet  surrendered,  though  "  lying  around  loose," 
and,  as  they  afterwards  learned,  was  probably  looking 
after  the  interests  of  slave  exporters,  rather  than  the  in 
terests  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  It  was  the  latter  part 
of  August  when  they  left  San  Antonio  for  Brownsville. 
After  five  days'  travel  from  San  Antonio,  and  just  before 
reaching  the  branch  road  which  leads  to  Brazos  San  Diego, 
from  the  main  military  road  to  Brownsville,  they  over 
took  a  gang  of  from  six  to  eight  hundred  negroes,  in 
charge  of,  and  driven  along  by,  about  forty  white  men, 
part  Americans  and  part  Mexicans.  The  negroes  con 
sisted  of  men,  women,  and  children.  There  were  no  old 
men  or  old  women  among  them.  Some  were  handcuffed 
together;  others  were  tied  together  with  ropes;  others 
not  bound  in  any  way.  Some  women  were  carrying 
children  in  their  arms.  All  were  on  foot  and  seemed 
weary  from  long  travel.  Their  drivers  were  all  on  horse 
back,  some  at  the  front,  some  at  the  sides,  and  some  in 


136     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  rear,  all  armed  with  pistols,  all  with  whips  in  their 
hands,  and  all  with  curses  in  their  mouths,  which  were 
hurled  at  the  poor  negroes  on  the  slightest  provocation. 
Like  cattle  drivers,  or  worse,  those  at  the  sides  and  rear 
were  constantly  hallooing,  cursing,  and  saying  to  the 
negroes,  "  Git  along !  git  along  !  Faster !  faster !  "  with 
an  oath  between  each  command.  Many  of  the  women, 
especially  such  as  were  carrying  children,  seemed  ready 
to  faint  from  exhaustion,  and  often  turned  their  faces  be 
seechingly,  and  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  towards  their 
drivers,  but  their  pleadings  were  only  met  by  curses,  still 
louder  and  still  deeper,  from  their  inhuman  captors  and 
drivers.  Behind  the  gang  were  three  two-wheeled  carts  and 
an  old  ambulance,  in  the  first  of  which  rations,  etc.,  were 
carried;  in  the  ambulance,  besides  old  clothes,  lay  a 
woman  whom  the  drivers  said  "  was  about  to  kid." 

The  Colonel  and  his  party  rode  along  with  this  negro- 
driving  party  some  three  or  four  hours,  meanwhile  gather 
ing  from  their  own  lips  all  they  could  relative  to  the 
character  and  extent  of  the  business ;  how,  when,  and  where 
inaugurated ;  how  and  to  whom  they  sold  their  human 
chattels  ;  what  the  profits  of  the  business,  and  with  whom 
the  profits  were  divided ;  what  part,  if  any,  the  former 
owner  got,  etc.,  etc.  The  drivers  were  not  at  all  disposed 
to  be  communicative,  nevertheless  a  considerable  amount 
of  information  was  drawn  from  them,  part  of  which  led 
to  other  clues,  which,  being  followed  up,  led  to  additional 
information,  the  whole  resulting  in  a  development  of  the 
facts  embraced  in  this  chapter. 

When  the  branch  road  before  spoken  of  was  reached, 
the  negro-drivers,  with  their  drove  of  human  chattels, 
turned  off  for  Brazos  San  Diego,  while  the  Colonel  and 
his  party  pursued  their  way  to  Brownsville  (opposite 
Matamoras),  which  they  reached  on  the  following  day. 
Here,  too,  they  saw  a  considerable  number  of  negroes  in 


SLAVES    DURING    AND    AFTER    THE    WAR.        137 

confinement,  awaiting  boats  to  take  them  down  the  Rio 
Grande  River  and  thence  to  a  market.  From  Brownsville 
the  Colonel  and  his  party  went  into  Mexico,  where  they 
remained  about  six  months.  In  February,  1866,  the 
Colonel  returned  to  Texas,  and  while  stopping  some  time 
with  Mr.  Higgins,  a  large  landowner  and  extensive  cat 
tle  raiser,  near  Bastrop,  overheard  a  Mexican  ask  his  son, 
William  Higgins,  to  get  up  a  fandango  at»his  saw-mills 
and  invite  all  the  negroes  of  the  neighborhood,  in  order 
that  he  (the  Mexican)  and  his  party  might  have  oppor 
tunity  to  seize  some  of  the  negroes  and  run  them  off  to 
a  market.  This,  it  will  be  borne  in  mind,  was  about  ten 
months  after  the  close  of  the  war,  about  six  months  since 
the  Colonel  had  seen  the  drove  of  negroes  on  the  road  to 
Brazos  San  Diego,  and  about  three  years  after  President 
Lincoln's  proclamation  went  into  effect,  declaring  freedom 
to  every  slave  within  the  limits  of  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy. 

Of  course,  the  Colonel  was  surprised  at  hearing  such  a 
proposition,  and,  though  as  much  of  a  pro-slavery  man 
as  any  one  could  be  after  all  that  had  transpired,  still  felt 
curious  to  know  all  about  this  new  business,  or  old  busi 
ness,  as  it  might  happen  to  be,  of  kidnapping,  running 
off,  and  selling  such  as  had  been  slaves.  His  inquiries 
resulted  in  developing  the  following  facts  : 

For  many  years  prior  to  the  war  the  breeding  and  rais 
ing  of  negroes  had  become  as  much  of  a  standard  busi 
ness  in  Virginia  as  the  planting  and  raising  of  cotton  had 
formerly  been,  or  as  the  breeding  and  raising  of  cattle 
still  is  in  Texas.  As  the  lands  became  poorer  in  Virginia 
from  long  cultivation,  the  raising  of  crops  became  less 
and  less  profitable,  until  it  was  finally  discovered  that  to 
raise  about  enough  of  crops  to  supply  themselves  and 
their  negroes  with  bread  and  clothing,  and  to  devote  all 
else  of  their  thoughts  and  energies  to  the  raising  of  ne- 

12* 


138     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

groes  for  market  and  use  in  States  where  the  climate  and 
quality  of  soil  made  the  raising  of  cotton  and  rice  a  re 
munerative  business,  would,  in  the  long  run,  be  much 
more  profitable  to  them.  This,  therefore,  became  the 
general  sense  of  the  State,  and  from  thenceforth  was  gen 
erally  pursued  throughout  the  State.  This  necessitated 
middlemen,  or  slave  merchants — such  as  would  purchase 
the  slave  of  the  Virginia  farmer  at  such  price  as  might  be 
agreed  upon,  take  him  or  her  to  his  place  of  business, 
put  them  in  the  best  possible  trim  for  a  market,  and  then 
take  them  off  in  droves  to  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Ala 
bama,  or  wherever  else  needed,  and  sell  them  at  private 
or  public  sale  for  the  best  prices  they  could  obtain. 
Whatever  inhumanity  there  might  be  in  such  business,  it 
certainly  resulted  in  large  profits,  especially  to  the  dealers, 
and  hence  it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  a  great  many 
should  have  been  engaged  in  it. 

When  the  war  commenced  there  were  hundreds,  if  not 
thousands,  of  these  slave-dealers  throughout  the  South. 
Some  went  into  the  army;  some,  who  had  well-filled 
purses,  fled  to  Cuba,  to  Canada,  to  Nassau,  to  England ; 
while  others,  too  poor  to  get  away,  too  cowardly  to  fight, 
too  lazy  to  work,  and  too  ignorant  to  do  any  business 
other  than  what  they  hagl  been  doing,  remained  in  the 
country  and  continued  to  ply  their  vocation  whenever 
and  wherever  opportunity  offered.  It  was  a  fixed  policy 
with  the  Confederate  Government  not  to  allow  slaves  to  be 
taken  or  sold  beyond  their  bounds,  and  that  every  possi 
ble  precaution  be  taken  to  prevent  the  escape  of  slaves 
into  the  Union  lines;  but  the  Government  had  no  ob 
jection  to  the  sale  and  transfer  of  slaves  from  Virginia  to 
Georgia,  or  to  any  other  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
as  the  Union  army  advanced  into  Virginia,  rather  encour 
aged  such  sales  and  transfers,  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
slaves  into  the  Union  lines.  The  effect  of  this  was  to 


SLAVES    DURING    AND    AFTER    THE    WAR.        139 

make  an  active  and  very  profitable  business  for  slave- 
dealers,  and  to  largely  increase  the  number  of  slaves  in 
the  more  southern  of  the  Confederate  States. 

When,  besides  going  into  Virginia,  Union  armies  com 
menced  forward  movements  into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
into  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
run  off  a  large  number  of  the  slaves  of  those  States  into 
Texas,  the  better  to  secure  them  from  capture  by  the 
Union  armies,  and  have  them  where  they  could  be  shipped 
to  foreign  ports,  if  not  thereafter  needed  by  the  States  of 
the  Confederacy,  or  if,  peradventure,  the  Confederacy  it 
self  might  fail  of  success.  When,  on  the  i6th  of  Novem 
ber,  1864,  Sherman  commenced  his  march  "from  Atlanta 
to  the  sea,"  a  like  necessity  of  getting  slaves  beyond  the 
reach  of  Union  soldiers  existed  in  all  the  Gulf  States, 
and  so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  get  them  into  Texas  it 
was  done.  How  many  thousands,  yea,  how  many  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  were  thus  driven  into  Texas  from 
other  Confederate  States,  God  only  knows,  or  will  ever 
know! 

This  particular  route  was  made  necessary  because  of 
the  blockading  of  Southern  ports ;  and  because  once  in 
Texas,  they  could  be  held  there  until  the  result  of  the 
war  was  known.  It  was  not,  as  before  stated,  the  policy 
of  the  Confederate  Government  to  have  the  slaves  taken 
beyond  their  control,  as  the  corner-stone  of  the  Confed 
eracy  was  to  be  slavery,  and  the  more  they  could  have 
of  it  the  greater,  they  thought,  would  be  their  prosperity; 
nor  was  it  the  policy  of  the  slave-dealer  to  take  his  chattel 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  best  market  in  the  world,  so  long 
as  there  was  a  reasonable  prospect  of  that  market  being 
kept  open.  In  Texas  the  dealer  had  the  double  chance — 
either  to  return  with  his  human  chattels  to  the  Confederate 
States,  in  case  it  became  an  established  government,  or, 
if  that  failed,  then  to  ship  them  from  Brazos  San  Diego, 


I4O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

from  Brownsville,  from  Corpus  Christi,  from  Powder  Horn, 
or  from  any  other  port  that  might  not  be  blockaded,  to 
Cuba,  to  Brazil,  or  wherever  else  slavery  existed  and  a 
market  could  be  found.  These  slave-dealers  watched  the 
result  of  the  contest  between  the  North  and  the  South 
with  the  same  interest  that  stock-jobbers  and  gold-gam 
blers  watched  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks,  and  the  rise  and 
fall  of  gold,  when  they  had  a  large  quantity  of  either  on 
hand,  and  were  waiting  to  turn  their  speculation  to  the 
best  possible  account.  When  news  would  reach  them 
that  the  Union  armies  were  carrying  everything  before 
them,  off  would  go  one  or  more  cargoes  of  negroes  to 
Cuba  or  Brazil.  When,  by  the  next  mail  probably,  news 
would  reach  them  that  the  Confederate  armies  were  meet 
ing  with  great  successes,  making  it  probable  that  a  Southern 
Confederacy  would  be  established,  they  would  regret  that 
they  had  sent  any  away,  and  hold  the  firmer  to  those  they 
had  left.  The  price  at  which  slaves  could  be  sold — espe 
cially  at  forced  or  hurried  sales — in  the  Brazil  and  Cuban 
markets,  was  far  less  than  what  they  could  reasonably 
hope  to  obtain  in  the  Southern  Confederacy,  provided  it 
became  an  acknowledged  government. 

When  shipments  of  negroes  were  commenced  from  the 
Texan  ports  heretofore  named,  and  how  often,  or  to  what 
extent  they  were  made,  we  are  unable  to  say  definitely ; 
but  the  probabilities  are  that  they  commenced  immediately 
after  President  Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  of  freedom 
to  the  slaves,  September  22,  1862,  and  were  made,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  thereafter  as  news  reached  the 
dealers  elevating  or  depressing  their  hopes  of  a  perma 
nent  Southern  Confederacy.  After  Sherman  commenced 
his  march  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  in  May,  1864, 
and  especially  after  he  resumed  his  march  from  Atlanta 
to  Savannah,  in  November,  1864,  and  still  more  especially 
after  he  commenced  his  march  from  Savannah  to  Charles- 


SLAVES  DURING  AND  AFTER  THE  WAR.    14! 

ton,  and  thence  to  Richmond,  in  January,  1865,  the  slave- 
dealers  in  Texas  thought  they  saw  the  handwriting  on 
the  wall,  "  MENE,  MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHARSIN" — "Thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting,"  and  from 
thenceforth  every  steamer,  schooner,  or  water-craft  of  any 
kind,  that  could  carry  ten  or  more  persons,  and  which 
they  could  possibly  procure  in  any  way,  was  secured  to 
run  the  negroes  from  Texas  to  such  markets  as  it  were 
possible  to  reach.  They  could  not  be  taken  to  the  prin 
cipal  open  ports  of  either  Cuba  or  Brazil,  lest,  being  seen 
by  an  anti-slavery  man,  the  facts  might  be  reported  to 
United  States  consuls  and  thence  to  the  United  States 
government ;  but  they  were  taken  to  out-of-the-way  places 
along  the  coast  of  both  countries,  where  copartners  in 
the  business  were  in  waiting  to  receive  and  make  further 
disposition  of  them.  The  money  received  from  sales 
was  sent  back  to  the  copartners  in  Texas  by  the  partner 
or  agent  bringing  out  the  last  lot,  and  thus  a  flow  of 
negroes  in  one  direction,  and  a  flow  of  money,  with  which 
to  buy  more,  in  another  direction,  was  kept  up  constantly. 
But  it  was  not  necessary  in  all  cases  to  make  purchases 
and  payments.  Indeed,  towards  the  close  of  the  war, 
actual  purchases  were  seldom  made,  and  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  none  at  all,  though  the  business  still  remained 
active.  The  plan  pursued  was  this  :  a  dealer  would  go  to 
a  planter,  to  a  farmer,  or  to  a  man  living  in  town  or  city, 
and  ask  him  how  many  slaves  he  owned.  The  answer 
would  be  ten,  twenty,  fifty,  one  hundred,  or  more,  as  the 
case  might  be ;  but  he  would  probably  add,  immediately 
after,  that  only  one-half,  or  one-fourth,  or  less  were  then 
with  him — the  others  were  hired  out,  or  with  the  army, 
helping  to  dig  trenches,  or  running  at  large,  he  did  not 
know  where.  The  dealer,  after  explaining  to  the  owner 
the  nature  of  his  business,  would  propose  to  take  from 
him  a  written  bill  of  sale  of  all  the  negroes  he  owned 


142     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

take  his  own  chances  of  catching  them  when  and  where 
he  could,  send  them  to  a  market  when  and  where  he 
could,  and  divide  with  the  owner  whatever  might  be  the 
net  result  of  sales.  The  owner,  reasoning  from  the  stand 
point  that  "  a  half  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread,"  and  that 
if  the  Confederacy  proved  a  failure  he  would  get  nothing 
at  all  for  his  slaves,  would  enter  into  such  written  agree 
ment  with  the  dealer.  With  this  in  his  pocket,  to  assure 
him  from  interference  from  pro-slavery  men,  and  to  prove 
to  all  who  might  question  him  that  his  business  was  of  a 
" mercantile"  rather  than  of  a  kidnapping,  character,  the 
dealer  and  his  agents  would  go  forth  to  seize  the  negroes 
— men,  women,  and  children — for  whom  he  had  bills  of 
sale  in  his  pocket.  If  resisted  by  a  white  man,  out  would 
come  his  bill  of  sale  to  prove  title ;  if  resisted  by  a  black 
man,  he  was  shot  down  or  hung  on  the  spot ;  if  resisted 
by  the  alleged  slave,  he  was  at  once  handcuffed,  gagged, 
and  marched  away;  if  identity  was  questioned  by  a  white 
man,  the  questioner  had  to  prove  property,  while  the  bill 
of  sale  held  by  the  dealer  was  regarded  as  prima  facie 
evidence  of  his  right  to  the  person  claimed  ;  if  identity 
was  questioned  by  the  person  seized,  or  by  any  other 
colored  man,  he  was  laughed  at,  gagged,  or  shot  down. 
In  this  way  thousands  were  seized,  thousands  driven  from 
where  seized  into  Texas,  and  tens  of  thousands  run  from 
Texas  to  Brazilian  and  Cuban  ports. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  the  fact  that  they  had  been 
made  free  by  proclamation  and  by  law  spread  rapidly 
among  those  who  had  been  slaves,  and  from  thenceforth 
the  business  of  kidnapping  and  running  them  off  became 
much  more  dangerous.  While  travelling  through  Texas, 
our  informant  met  many  negroes  on  the  road  with  pistols 
at  their  sides,  or  guns  upon  their  shoulders,  and,  when 
asked  what  it  meant,  they  would  reply,  "  Des  am  dan 
gerous  times,  sa ;  we  has  to  protect  ourselves,  you  know." 


SLAVES  DURING  AND  AFTER  THE  WAR.   143 

He  saw,  too,  as  before  stated,  both  black  men  and  white 
men  hanging  to  the  limbs  of  trees  by  the  roadside,  some 
of  whom,  doubtless,  had  been  hung  there  because  of  re 
sistance  to  kidnappers.  All  manner  of  means  were  de 
vised  by  these  kidnappers  to  catch  the  negroes  when  and 
where  they  could  make  the  least  resistance  and  the  least 
noise.  Even  ten  months  after  the  war,  as  before  stated, 
one  of  these  dealers — the  partner,  probably,  of  an  exten 
sive  firm,  made  up  of  both  Americans  and  Mexicans — 
proposed  to  William  Higgins  to  get  up  a  fandango,  or 
dance,  at  his  saw-mills,  and  invite  thereto  all  the  negroes 
in  the  neighborhood,  for  the  purpose,  and  only  for  the 
purpose,  of  enabling  these  kidnappers  to  seize  and  run 
off  as  many  as  could  be  ensnared  within  the  trap,  or  got 
hold  of;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  four  months  after 
the  war  that  the  drove  of  from  six  to  eight  hundred  ne 
groes  were  seen  on  the  road  to  Brazos  San  Diego. 

It  will  be  a  wonder  with  some  readers  how  it  was  pos 
sible  to  continue  such  a  business  after  Union  troops  had 
been  stationed  at  Austin,  the  capital  of  the  State,  under 
so  able  a  commander  as  General  Sturges  ;  and  after  they 
had  been  stationed  at  Bastrop,  and  at  other  large  towns 
throughout  the  State.  The  explanation  is  simply  this : 
While  the  sentiment  of  the  Union  troops  was  entirely  op 
posed  to  any  such  traffic,  and  while,  in  pursuance  of  law, 
their  duty  plainly  was  to  hang  any  man  whom  they  found 
engaged  in  such  a  business,  yet  the  sentiment  of  the  white 
people,  among  whom  the  troops  were  located,  was  largely, 
if  not  universally,  in  favor  of  the  traffic,  and  hence  they 
would  not  inform  against  those  who  were  engaged  in  it ; 
and  had  the  troops  learned  of,  and  attempted  to  arrest, 
any  of  the  parties,  every  white  man  of  the  town  or  neigh 
borhood  would  have  risen  in  arms  and  attempted  the 
rescue  of  the  parties.  Law,  without  public  sentiment  to 
sustain  it,  is  a  dead  letter,  or  nearly  so,  under  all  circum- 


144     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

stances,  and  where  public  sentiment  is  decidedly  opposed 
to  a  law,  its  execution  is  next  to  impossible. 

Another  wonder,  scarcely  less  than  the  first,  will  be 
with  some  readers,  how  it  could  be  possible  that  honora 
ble  men — men  whose  personal  characters  before  the  war 
were  above  reproach,  either  from  Southern  or  Northern 
men ;  men  who  had  led  consistent  Christian  lives,  and 
who  had  been  regarded  as  bright  and  shining  lights  in 
their  respective  church  organizations,  could  permit  such 
things  to  be  done  before  their  very  eyes,  and  look  on 
indifferently,  if  not  approvingly.  The  explanation  is  this  : 
Most  of  this  business  of  running  off  slaves  was  done  with 
out  the  knowledge  of  the  Confederate  authorities.  Indeed, 
had  it  come  to  their  ears  during  the  earlier  stages  of  the 
war  they  would  have  done  what  they  could  to  prevent  it, 
however  indifferent  they  might  have  been  to  it  during 
the  last  year  or  last  few  months  of  the  war.  But  a  far 
weightier  reason  is,  that  what  seems  so  heinous,  so  dia 
bolical,  so  criminal  indeed,  to  a  Northern  anti-slavery 
man,  was,  in  the  eyes  of  a  Southern  pro-slavery  man, 
only  a  fair  business  transaction,  based  on  Bible  authority, 
State  law,  and  the  law  of  self-preservation.  They  regarded 
these  negroes  as  much  the  property  of  those  who  had 
owned  them,  as  horses  or  cattle  would  have  been.  Nor 
did  they  regard  the  proclamation  of  President  Lincoln 
and  the  acts  of  Congress,  whereby  slaves  were  declared 
free,  with  any  more  awe  or  respect  than  they  would  have 
regarded  a  like  proclamation,  or  like  acts  of  Congress,  if 
issued  or  made  with  regard  to  horses  or  cattle.  Hence, 
to  their  consciences  it  was  no  more  of  a  sin  to  seize  and 
run  off  to  a  market  these  negroes  during  the  war,  or  even 
after  the  war,  than  it  would  have  been  to  seize  or  run  off 
from  the  grasp  of  an  enemy  a  like  number  of  horses  or  cat 
tle.  That  conscience  is  largely  dependent  on  surroundings, 
and  on  education,  is  no  longer  a  disputable  question  among 


SLAVES    DURING    AND    AFTER    THE    WAR.        145 

mental  philosophers.  That  the  cannibal,  who  kills  and  eats 
his  fellow-man,  is  just  as  conscientious  in  what  he  does  as 
the  man  who  kills  and  .eats  a  lamb,  is  now  a  generally  ad 
mitted  fact.  With  this  philosophic  truth  as  a  stand-point 
from  which  to  look  at  the  subject,  who  can  doubt  that 
General  Polk,  who  for  so  many  years  had  been  the  univer 
sally  respected  and  highly  beloved  Bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  Louisiana,  was  just  as  conscientious  in  his  advocacy  of 
slavery,  and  in  his  defence  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
as  Bishop  Simpson  was  in  his  opposition  to  slavery  and 
his  advocacy  of  the  Union.  Who  can  doubt  that  General 
Pendleton,  who  had  been  for  so  many  years  a  reverend 
doctor  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  head  of  a  semi 
nary  near  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  who  never  gave  the  order 
to  fire  without  first  raising  his  eyes  heavenward  and  say 
ing,  "God  have  mercy  on  their  souls,"  was  just  as  con 
scientious  in  the  belief  that  slavery  was  justified  by  the 
Bible,  and  approved  of  by  God,  as  John  Wesley  was  in  the 
belief  that  "  slavery  was  the  sum  of  all  villanies  "  ?  Who 
can  doubt  that  General  Jackson  ("  Stonewall "),  with 
whom  the  Bible  was  a  constant  companion,  who  prayed 
while  he  marched,  who  prayed  when  he  encamped,  who 
prayed  even  while  directing  the  movements  of  a  battle, 
was  just  as  conscientious  in  his  belief  that  slavery  was 
right,  as  Wendell  Phillips  was  that  slavery  was  wrong; 
just  as  conscientious  in  the  belief  that  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  should  succeed,  in  order  to  make  slavery  per 
petual  in  this  country,  as  General  Birney  was  that  the 
Union  cause  should  succeed,  if  for  no  other  reason  than 
to  wipe  out  slavery  once  and  forever  from  the  United 
States.  This,  certainly,  is  the  charitable  view  to  take  of 
the  whole  subject ;  nor,  with  our  present  knowledge  of 
ethics  and  mental  philosophy,  is  it  any  more  charitable 
than  true. 

Reason  about  it  as  we  may,  however,  the  fact  remains 
13  K 


146     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

that  tens  of  thousands,  probably  hundreds  of  thousands, 
were  driven  out  and  run  out  of  the  United  States  in  the 
manner  indicated,  and  are  now,  if  still  alive,  toiling  as 
slaves  in  other  lands ;  and  that  many  a  father,  many  a 
mother,  many  a  sister,  and  many  a  brother,  after  their 
loved  ones  had  been  thus  kidnapped  and  taken  away, 
without  any  knowledge  upon  the  part  of  their  friends, 
have  had  reason  to  cry  out  in  the  bitterness  of  their 
souls,  "  We  neber  seed  'em  any  more  /" 


148 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   CONFEDERACY  AS  SEEN  FROM  WITHIN. 
PRIDE,  PASSION,  AND  WANT  IN  THE  BACKGROUND. 

OINCE  the  war,  we  have  seen,  and  had  long  conversa- 
O  tions  with,  a  reverend  doctor,  whom  we  had  known 
for  many  years  previous  to  the  war,  who  resided  in  Vir 
ginia  when  the  war  commenced,  was  among  the  first  to 
take  part  in  it,  and  who  continued  in  the  service  until  the 
war  closed.  We  have  also  met  other  Confederate  officers 
since  the  war,  some  of  whom  had  extraordinary  facilities 
for  obtaining  information  while  the  war  continued.  From 
all  these  we  learned  much  beyond  anything  we  had  ever 
known  before,  or  ever  seen  in  newspapers  or  books.  To 
put  on  record  some  of  the  things  so  learned  is  the  object 
of  the  present  chapter. 

The  South  well  knew,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the 
contest,  that  in  point  of  numbers,  in  wealth,  and  in  ma 
terial  resources,  it  was  greatly  inferior  to  the  North.  They 
had  hope,  however,  of  dividing  the  North,  or,  rather,  of 
having  the  North  divide  against  itself;  and  had  the  one- 
hundredth  part  of  the  promises  made  them  by  Northern 
men  been  kept,  there  would  indeed  have  been  a  division 
of  force,  as  well  as  a  division  of  political  sentiment,  in 
the  North ;  and  the  result  of  such  division  might  have 
given  the  final  victory  to  the  Confederacy,  instead  of  to 
the  Union  cause.  But  what  the  South  relied  upon  still 
more,  was  assistance  from  England.  They  had  been 
led  to  believe  that  King  Cotton  was  almost,  if  not  quite, 
13*  149 


I5O  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

as  powerful  in  England  as  Queen  Victoria,  and  they  had 
laid  the  "  flattering  unction  to  their  souls  "  that  so  soon 
as  King  Cotton  saw  those  who  had  made  him  king  in  dis 
tress,  he  would  rush,  pell-mell,  to  their  rescue ;  scatter 
the  Yankee  blockading  squadrons  to  the  winds ;  throw 
open  all  the  Southern  ports ;  bring  men,  ammunition,  cloth 
ing,  and  provisions  to  exchange  for  their  cotton,  and 
thus,  beyond  any  reasonable  doubt,  insure  success  to  the 
Southern  cause. 

As  well  assured  as  they  felt  of  all  this,  they  still  re 
garded  it  as  important  to  keep  all  the  while  the  "best 
foot  foremost;"  to  keep  up  an  appearance  of  strength, 
however  weak  they  might  be ;  to  keep  up  a  show  of  in 
dependence,  however  much  they  might  be  hoping  and 
praying  for  help.  Like  as  an  expectant  bride,  though  she 
has  the  plighted  faith  of  her  lover,  will  continue  to  smile, 
to  dress,  to  allure  in  every  way  she  can,  up  to  the  very 
hour  of  the  marriage  ceremony,  so  the  South  continued 
to  smile,  to  dress,  to  allure,  in  every  way  she  could,  her 
Northern  allies,  who  had  solemnly  plighted  their  faith  to 
her,  and  her  English  sympathizers,  whose  pecuniary  in 
terests  lay  all  in  that  direction,  and  these  things  she 
continued  to  do  up  to  the  very  moment  when  the  Con 
federacy  collapsed,  and  when  it  was  found  that  nothing 
was  left  of  the  egg  but  the  shell.  As  our  reverend  friend 
said  to  us,  over  and  over  again,  and  as  other  Confederate 
officers  have  said  to  us,  over  and  over  again,  "  none  but 
those  within  the  lines,  and  behind  the  scenes,  knew  of  the 
destitution,  of  the  suffering,  of  the  heart-aches,  of  the 
skeletons  within  closets  while  those  who  held  the  keys 
were  smiling  as  if  they  were  full  of  good  things,  of  the 
turns  and  shifts  which  not  only  the  army  but  which 
almost  every  family  in  the  South  had  to  make,  in  order 
to  preserve  life,  and  yet  keep  up  a  fair  outside  show, 
during  those  four  terrible  years  of  war."  And  now  for 


THE    CONFEDERACY    AS    SEEN    FROM    WITHIN.       151 

the  illustrations — little  or  none  of  which  has  ever  before 
been  published. 

After  the  first  year  of  the  war,  so  much  in  want  of  food 
was  the  Confederate  army  at  times,  that,  in  one  instance, 
an  officer,  with  an  escort,  travelled  sixty  miles  before  he 
could  purchase  food  enough  to  load  one  six-mule  wagon 
which  he  had  with  him.  Even  then  they  had  to  go 
within  the  Union  lines,  and  run  very  great  risk  of  being 
captured. 

The  same  officer  from  whom  we  learned  the  above 
incident,  also  told  us  that,  on  one  occasion,  he  and  the 
men  with  him  were  so  ravenous  from  hunger  that  he  shot 
an  old  sow  that  had  had  a  large  litter  of  pigs  only  the  day 
before,  and  that  while  he  and  his  fellow  officers  ate  the 
meat  (if  meat  it  could  be  called)  of  the  old  sow,  his  men 
ate  not  only  the  one-day-old  pigs,  but  even  the  very 
entrails  of  the  mother. 

On  another  occasion  this  same  officer  shot  an  opossum 
that  had  just  been  having  its  young,  and  while,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  he  could  no  more  have  eaten  its 
flesh  than  he  could  have  eaten  a  viper,  yet  such  was  his 
hunger  at  the  time  that  the  dish  seemed  palatable.  Often, 
he  said,  he  had  gone  for  a  whole  day,  and  occasionally 
two  or  three  days  at  a  time,  without  one  "  square  meal ;" 
and  this  he  knew  to  be  an  ordinary  experience  among 
officers  of, the  Confederate  army,  especially  during  the 
last  year  of  the  war,  and  largely  so  during  the  two  or  three 
last  years  of  the  war.  Certainly,  if  there  was  an  officer 
in  that  army  who  had  opportunities  to  live  on  the  "  fat  of 
the  land,"  he  was  one  of  them,  and  if  he  suffered  thus, 
God  only  knows  what  must  have  been  the  sufferings  of 
others ! 

Early  in  the  war,  coffee  became  scarce,  and,  during  the 
last  year  or  two,  hardly  to  be  had  at  all  within  the  lines 
of  the  Confederacy.  To  procure  it,  all  manner  of  devices 


152     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

were  resorted  to.  On  one  occasion,  when  two  sentinels 
were  within  calling  distance  of  each  other — one  on  either 
side  of  an  intervening  deep  ravine — a  Confederate  officer 
present  told  his  sentinel  to  ask  the  Union  sentinel  whether 
his  company  had  any  coffee  which  they  would  exchange 
for  tobacco.  The  Union  sentinel  inquired  of  his  captain, 
and  after  a  time  hallooed  back  that  they  had  of  their  com 
pany  rations  a  bag  of  coffee  left  over,  which  they  would 
exchange  for  tobacco,  provided  they  could  make  a  good 
trade.  The  Confederate  officer  instructed  his  sentinel  to 
reply  that  they  would  give  twenty-five  boxes  of  plug 
tobacco  for  one  bag  of  coffee.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
and  as  soon  after  as  the  coffee  and  the  tobacco  could  be 
brought  to  the  spot,  the  Union  sentinel  rolled  down  the 
bag  of  coffee,  the  Confederate  sentinel  rolled  down  the 
twenty-five  boxes  of  tobacco,  to  the  foot  of  the  ravine, 
when,  with  assistants,  each  took  away  the  article  traded 
for — hostilities  being  suspended  meanwhile.  Each  of  the 
parties  was  highly  pleased  with  the  trade.  Before  the 
war  one  or  two  boxes  of  tobacco  would  have  brought  in 
the  New  York  market  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  one  bag 
of  coffee. 

Pins  and  needles  became  so  scarce  in  the  Confederacy 
that  at  least  one  man — a  Mr.  Webster  Sly,  of  Charles 
County,  Md.,  brother  to  a  celebrated  doctor  in  that  vicin 
ity — made  quite  a  fortune  by  smuggling  trunks  full  of 
these  articles  across  the  Union  lines  and  selling  them 
within  the  Confederate  lines. 

As  early  as  1863,  one  of  our  informants  saw  dogs  in 
the  streets  of  Charleston  so  emaciated  that  they  could 
scarcely  walk,  and  at  one  time  saw  one  of  these  animals 
leaning  against  a  fence  and  chewing  upon  an  old  shoe. 
In  that  city  and  in  Richmond  he  knew  of  families  who 
had  once  been  wealthy  that  were,  during  the  war,  com 
pelled  to  sell  not  only  their  clothing,  but  even  their  beds, 


THE    CONFEDERACY    AS    SEEN    FROM    WITHIN.       153 

to  procure  food  to  live  upon.  Our  reverend  friend  him 
self,  though  at  one  time  the  owner  of  a  handsome  house 
and  of  slaves,  had,  while  at  Petersburg,  been  compelled 
to  live,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  in  a  garret,  and  upon 
food  that  a  dog  would  scarcely  have  eaten  under  ordinary 
circumstances. 

Not  only  did  such  destitution  prevail  throughout  the 
Confederate  States  during  the  war,  but  still  worse  evils 
prevailed,  engendered  by  pride,  jealousy,  and  passion. 
While  this  fact  was  carefully  concealed  from  Northern 
eyes  and  ears,  and  from  English  eyes  and  ears,  yet  it  pre 
vailed  to  an  alarming  extent,  and  when  occasionally  it 
would  burst  forth  in  such  violence  as  to  cause  death,  no 
mention  of  the  fact  was  made  in  the  newspapers  at  Rich 
mond  lest  it  might  reach  Northern  or  English  ears. 

Almost  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  two  parties  sprang 
up  in  the  Confederacy,  known  as  the  "  Davis  party"  and 
the  "  Stephens  party."  President  Davis  advocated  one 
line  of  policy  ;  Vice-President  Stephens  advocated  another 
line  of  policy.  Their  respective  friends  took  sides,  each 
with  his  chief,  and  so  bitter  became  the  strife  between 
the  two,  that  when  the  Government  was  removed  from 
Montgomery  to  Richmond  Mr.  Stephens  would  not  come 
there  to  preside  over  the  deliberations  of  the  Senate.  At 
one  time,  in  1863,  the  strife  between  their  respective  par 
tisans  in  the  Confederate  Congress,  then  meeting  in 
Richmond,  became  so  great,  that  a  Virginian  (a  Davis 
man)  shot  and  killed  a  Georgian  (a  Stephens  man)  upon 
the  floor  of  the  House  for  some  words  uttered  in  debate. 
The  excitement  for  the  moment  was  intense.  Pistols  and 
bowie-knives  were  drawn  by  dozens  of  Congressmen,  and 
it  seemed  that  many  additional  lives  would  have  to  be 
sacrificed  then  and  there  before  the  affray  could  end,  but 
erelong  quiet  was  restored  and  the  dead  body  of  the 
slain  member  removed  from  the  chamber.  Our  informant 


154     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

saw  the  dead  body  as  it  was  carried  along  the  street,  in 
quired  after  and  learned  all  the  incidents  of  the  bloody 
affair,  but  neither  on  that  day  nor  on  any  day  thereafter 
was  a  word  said  about  it  in  the  Richmond  newspapers. 

Another  cause  of  much  irritation,  much  jealousy,  and 
much  bad  blood,  arose  in  the  appointing  of  general  of 
ficers  for  the  Confederate  army.  Mr.  Davis,  being  him 
self  a  "West-Pointer,"  it  was  not  unnatural  that  he  should 
prefer,  in  all  cases,  graduates  of  West  Point ;  but,  as  the 
people  of  the  several  States  had  to  furnish  not  only  the 
money,  but  the  men  for  the  army,  it  was  not  unnatural 
that  they  should  desire  to  see  some  of  their  leading  citi 
zens  in  command  of  the  men  they  furnished.  The  people 
believed  that  brains  were  quite  as  essential  to  success  as 
teclmical  military  knowledge,  and  were  not  willing  to  trust 
all  their  interests,  personal  and  pecuniary,  to  the  direction 
of  such  as  knew  little  or  nothing  beyond  military  tactics. 
The  demand  became  so  strong  and  so  persistent  that  the 
administration  yielded,  so  far  as  to  appoint  Bishop  Polk, 
Rev.  Dr.  Pendleton,  John  C.  Breckinridge,  and  Bradley 
Johnson,  to  generalships ;  but  beyond  this,  few,  if  any, 
held  high  positions  in  the  army,  other  than  West-Point 
ers.  Towards  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Lee  said,  at 
a  dinner  given  to  army  officers,  at  Orange  Court-House, 
near  his  headquarters,  that  from  thenceforth  the  "  policy 
of  the  government  would  be  to  give  promotion  to  such, 
and  such  only,  as  fairly  earned  it  on  the  field  of  battle, 
without  regard  to  their  previous  military  education." 
This  speech  was  reported  at  once  in  every  part  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  as  he  was  presumed  to  speak  by  author 
ity,  it  had  the  effect  to  quiet',  in  a  great  measure,  the  ex 
citement  which  had  so  long  existed  relative  to  military 
appointments. 

Another  source  of  demoralization,  and,  consequently, 
of  weakness  in  the  Confederacy,  was  the  disposition  to 


THE    CONFEDERACY    AS    SEEN    FROM    WITHIN.       155 

gamble  among  so  many  of  its  officers  and  leading  citi 
zens.      At    Richmond,  while   so    many,  who   had   been 
affluent,  were    almost   starving;    while  the   gradual  dis 
appearance,  and  finally  the  entire  absence,  of  cats  and 
dogs    in   the   city,  proved  that   meat   other  than   lamb 
was  supplying  the  tables  of  many  of  its  citizens ;  while 
even  the  highest  officers  of  State  were,  at  times,  sorely 
perplexed  about   food   for   their  families,   the  gambling 
houses  of  that  city  were  doing  a  splendid  business,  and 
furnishing  free  lunches  to  their  patrons  far  superior  to 
what  could  be  found  upon  the  table  of  President  Davis 
or  any  member  of  his  cabinet.     Indeed,  it  became  well 
known  among  Confederate  army  officers,  and  among  the 
leading  gentlemen  of  the  city  as  well,  that  the  best  eata 
bles  and  the  best  drinkables  to  be  had  in  the  Confederacy 
were  to  be  had  at  these  gambling  saloons,  and  many  a 
one  was  induced  to  patronize  them  on  this  account  more 
than  on  any  other.     It  was  said  that  the  proprietors  of 
these  saloons  could  obtain,  and  did  obtain,  supplies  from 
the  North,  when  the  highest  officers  and  the  wealthiest 
men  of  Richmond  could  not  obtain  them.     How  done, 
except  through  pals  and  noted  gamblers,  some  of  whom 
were  well-known    spies,  and  often  in  Washington,  was 
never  known.  Notwithstanding  the  expensive  free  lunches 
given  by  these  gambling  houses  every  day,  they  made  im 
mense  amounts  of  money.      What  they  made  in  gold 
and  greenbacks  they  carefully  stored  away,  or  made  use 
of  in  the  purchase  of  supplies.     What  they  got  in  Con 
federate  money  they  invested  in  real  estate,  so  that,  when 
the  war  ended,  the  gamblers  of  Richmond  owned  more 
real  estate  than  any  other  class  of  persons,  if  not  more 
than  all  other  classes  combined.    What  was  true  of  Rich 
mond,  in  all  these  particulars,  was  probably  true  of  every 
other  city  in  the  Confederacy. 

Still  another  source  of  weakness  in  the  Confederacy 


156     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

was  the  lack  of  confidence,  almost  from  the  beginning,  in 
the  currency  issued  by  the  government,  or  by  its  author 
ity.  It  was  thought  to  be  a  terrible  condition  of  things 
in  the  North  when  a  gold  dollar  commanded  $2.85  in 
greenbacks;  when  muslin,  that  had  sold  for  ten  cents 
per  yard,  sold  for  thirty;  when  coffee,  sugar,  meats, 
almost  everything,  commanded  double,  and,  in  some 
cases,  treble  the  prices  at  which  they  had  sold  before 
the  war;  but  these  were  as  nothing  when  compared 
with  the  South.  A  single  chicken  leg,  or  a  single 
chicken  wing,  with  a  small  piece  of  corn-bread  tied  to 
it,  sold  at  from  one  to  two  dollars  at  many  of  the  rail 
road  depots ;  a  drink  of  brandy  or  whiskey,  at  the  Ballard 
House,  Richmond,  cost  five  dollars  ;  a  single  meal,  at  the 
same  house,  ten  dollars ;  a  gentleman's  dressing-gown, 
smuggled  through  from  the  North  by  a  land  blockade-run 
ner,  sold,  in  Richmond,  for  eleven  hundred  dollars.  Of 
course,  all  these  prices  mean  Confederate  currency.  Such 
as  were  wise  enough  to  invest  their  Confederate  money 
in  real  estate  had  something  of  real  value  after  the  war. 
Such  as  failed  to  do  this,  had  large  amounts  in  what  pur 
ported  to  be  money,  but  not  one  penny  in  real  value,  after 
the  war  ended.  Every  dollar  of  gold  or  silver  that  came 
within  the  Confederate  lines,  after  the  second  year  of  the 
war,  was  either  hoarded  or  hid  away,  or  expended  for 
needed  supplies,  in  which  case  it  soon  found  its  way  back 
to  the  North  or  to  England. 

And  thus  we  close  this  tenth  scene  of  the  drama,  in 
which  we  have  endeavored  to  give  our  readers  a  glimpse 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy  as  seen  from  within;  and  to 
show,  too,  that  pride,  passion,  and  want  formed  a  fearful 
picture  in  the  background. 


158 


CHAPTER    XI. 

HOW  ORDER    WAS  MAINTAINED. 
KINDNESS  AND  POWER  (HAND-IN-HAND)  BEHIND  THE  SCENES. 

'IPHE  city  of  Alexandria  is  situated  about  seven  miles 
1  below  Washington,  on  the  Potomac  River.  It  was 
at  one  time  a  part  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  but,  by 
a  subsequent  arrangement,  was  retroceded  to  Virginia. 
Prior  to  the  war  it  was  a  place  of  considerable  business ; 
contained,  probably,  thirty  thousand  inhabitants;  had 
some  fine  streets,  and  a  few  handsome  buildings;  and 
was  a  favorite  place  of  resort,  as  well  as  of  residence,  for 
the  more  wealthy  and  influential  citizens  of  that  part  of 
Virginia. 

After  the  war  commenced,  by  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter, 
the  first  object  of  the  United  States  Government  was  to 
save  Washington  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
Between  the  i8th  of  May  and  the  23d  of  June,  1861, 
thirty-one  fully  organized  regiments  and  three  indepen 
dent  companies  arrived  in  that  city.  Of  these,  four  were 
from  Pennsylvania,  also  the  three  independent  companies, 
four  from  Massachusetts,  eleven  from  New  York  State, 
four  from  New  Jersey,  two  from  Rhode  Island,  three  from 
Connecticut,  one  from  Michigan,  and  two  from  Ohio. 
These  regiments  numbered  about  28,000  men.  Besides 
these,  there  were  about  4,000  District  of  Columbia  militia, 
organized  under  Colonel  Stone,  and  about  4,000  regular 
United  States  troops.  All  these  were  concentrated,  thus 
early,  for  the  defence  of  the  capital,  and  to  form  a  pivot 
for  future  movements. 

'59 


l6o     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Though  these  volunteer  regiments  had  had  but  little 
opportunity  for  drill,  the  impatience  of  the  North  soon 
made  it  necessary  for  them  to  make  a  forward  movement 
of  some  kind ;  and,  as  Alexandria  was  the  most  approxi 
mate  point,  and  as  a  considerable  force  of  the  Confederates 
were  known  to  be  concentrated  there,  it  was  resolved  to 
make  an  attack  upon,  and,  if  possible,  capture  that  city. 
Accordingly,  at  midnight  on  the  23d  of  May,  1861,  a 
small  force  was  pushed  across  the  Long  Bridge  to  the 
Virginia  side,  to  clear  and  hold  the  head  of  the  bridge ; 
and  at  two  o'clock  on  the  following  morning  a  consider 
able  force  left  Washington  on  foot,  while  a  regiment  of 
Zouaves,  under  command  of  Colonel  Ellsworth,  left  on 
two  steamers — all  for  Alexandria.  The  movement  was 
so  concerted  that  the  force  on  foot  reached  the  outskirts 
of  the  city  at  the  same  time  that  Ellsworth's  force  reached 
the  wharves.  The  Confederate  force  at  Alexandria  was 
far  too  small  to  contend  with  the  Union  force  sent  against 
them,  and  as  the  one  entered  the  other  retired  from  the 
city.  But  for  the  unfortunate  death  of  Colonel  Ellsworth, 
who  was  shot  by  James  Jackson,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Marshall  House,  while  the  former  was  removing  a  Con 
federate  flag  which  had  been  flying  from  the  flag-staff  of 
that  hotel,  and  the  killing  of  Jackson,  which  followed 
immediately  after,  there  would  have  been  no  blood  shed 
in  the  capture  of  that  city. 

Not  only  did  the  Confederate  troops  retire  on  the  ap 
proach  of  the  Union  troops,  but  a  large  number  of  fam 
ilies  and  single  citizens  left  at  the  same  time.  Indeed, 
for  several  days  previous  to  the  coming  of  the  Union 
troops,  it  was  well  known  in  Alexandria  that  they  were 
coming,  and  many  of  its  citizens,  some  of  whom  owned 
farms  in  other  parts  of  Virginia,  some  plantations  in  other 
parts  of  the  South,  and  others  who  had  friends  and  rela 
tives  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  or  in  other  parts  of  the 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  l6l 

South,  had  all  quietly  left  for  their  respective  farm-homes, 
plantations,  or  friends.  Some  who  could  not  leave  thus 
suddenly  went  as  soon  as  they  could  thereafter,  so  that, 
before  a  Union  line  had  been  fully  established  beyond 
Alexandria,  probably  two-thirds  of  its  citizens  had  left, 
leaving  only  about  ten  thousand  out  of  a  previous  popu 
lation  of  about  thirty  thousand. 

Immediately  thereafter,  however,  the  Union  forces  com 
menced  to  establish  camps  at  points  beyond,  yet  not  far 
from,  Alexandria.  Near  the  Seminary  buildings,  only  a 
few  miles  from  the  city,  a  considerable  number  of  troops 
were  encamped;  while,  at  Malvern  Hills,  at  Edsall's  farm, 
at  or  near  Fall's  Church,  and  at  many  other  points,  regi 
ments,  brigades,  or  whole  divisions  were  located.  As 
a  consequence  of  this,  notwithstanding  Alexandria  had 
been  so  largely  abandoned  by  its  own  citizens,  its  streets 
were  more  thronged  with  citizens  and  soldiers  combined, 
its  drinking  saloons  were  more  frequented,  and  there  was 
more  of  bustle  and  confusion  generally  in  the  city  during 
the  summer,  fall,  and  winter  of  1861  than  there  had  ever 
been  in  any  past  period  of  its  history. 

With  the  hasty  leaving  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Alex 
andria  had  gone  whatever  it  had  possessed  of  municipal, 
county,  or  State  government.  The  mayor  and  members 
of  the  city  council  had  fled;  all  the  State  and  county 
judges  had  fled;  the  county  clerk,  the  surrogate,  and 
every  other  county  officer  had  fled;  nor  was  there  a 
single  justice  of  the  peace,  a  single  constable,  or  a  single 
police-officer — or,  at  least,  not  one  who  declared  himself 
as  such — left  in  the  city.  There  was  no  formal  announce 
ment  of  the  establishing  of  martial  law  within  the  city 
limits,  but  its  possession  by  Union  troops  made  it  vir 
tually  so  from  the  moment  they  took  possession. 

The  battle  of  Bull  Run  occurred  on  the  2 1st  of  July, 
1 86 1,  and  although  Alexandria  had  been  bad  enough 

14*  L 


l62     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

before  that  time,  it  was  still  worse  after.  For  some  time 
after  that  battle  the  Union  army  seemed  utterly  demoral 
ized.  The  commanders  of  regiments,  brigades,  and  di 
visions  seemed  for  the  moment  to  have  lost  all  control 
over  their  men.  Officers  and  men,  instead  of  remaining 
in  camp  to  drill,  flocked  into  Washington  and  into  Alex 
andria  by  scores,  yea,  by  hundreds,  every  day.  Hotels, 
drinking  saloons,  restaurants,  houses  of  ill-fame  were  all 
doing  a  rushing  business,  and  meanwhile  the  legitimate 
duties  of  the  officer  and  the  soldier  were  almost  wholly 
neglected.  General  McClellan  reached  Washington,  and 
assumed  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  on  the 
26th  of  July,  1 86 1,  and  on  the  3Oth  issued  an  order  in 
which  he  said,  "The  general  commanding  the  division 
has  with  much  regret  observed  that  large  numbers  of 
officers  and  men  stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Washington 
(his  command  included  Alexandria  and  beyond  as  well) 
are  in  the  habit  of  frequenting  the  streets  and  hotels  of 
the  city.  This  practice  is  eminently  prejudicial  to  good 
order  and  discipline,  and  must  at  once  be  discontinued." 
This  order  had  a  salutary  effect  to  a  certain  extent,  but 
it  by  no  means  cured  the  evil.  It  made  officers  and  men 
more  careful  to  procure  leaves  of  absence  and  passes 
before  leaving  their  camps ;  for,  if  found  in  Washington 
or  Alexandria  without  such  leave  or  pass,  they  were 
liable  to  be  called  upon  by  the  provost-marshal,  or  ar 
rested  by  the  provost-guard ;  but,  after  the  first  week  or 
two,  in  the  lessening  of  numbers  the  effect  of  the  order 
was  hardly  perceptible.  The  hotels,  drinking  saloons, 
restaurants,  and  houses  of  ill-fame  still  continued  to  do 
a  thriving  business ;  while  fights  in  saloons,  brawls  in  the 
streets,  insults  to  persons  walking  the  streets,  thefts,  rob 
beries,  and  the  like  misdemeanors,  were  of  almost  daily 
and  nightly  occurrence. 
~  Such  was  the  condition  of  things  in  Alexandria,  when, 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  163 

in  August,  1 86 1,  General  William  R.  Montgomery,  who 
had  been  the  Colonel  of  the  First  New  Jersey  regiment 
of  volunteers,  but  had  recently  been  promoted  to  a  brig 
adier-generalship,  was  detached  from  his  command,  then 
encamped  near  the  Seminary  buildings,  and  assigned  to 
the  command  (as  Military  Governor)  of  Alexandria.  He 
had  for  his  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  Jacob  R.  Freese, 
of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  who  had  been  an  active  business-man 
all  his  life  (he  was  then  about  thirty-five  years  of  age), 
and  who  for  the  four  years  immediately  preceding  the 
war  had  been  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  State 
Gazette,  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  State. 
General  Montgomery  was  then  about  sixty  years  of  age, 
a  graduate  of  West  Point,  had  been  connected  with  the 
regular  army  nearly  all  his  life — a  perfect  gentleman  in 
his  manners,  mild,  quiet,  unobtrusive,  exceedingly  kind 
and  gentle ;  but  knew  comparatively  nothing  of  business 
life,  and  had  hardly  been  in  a  police-office  or  a  court 
room  during  his  whole  life.  Though  no  officer  in  the 
army  was  truer  to  the  Union  cause  than  he,  yet  so  ex 
ceedingly  kind  was  he  in  his  general  disposition,  so 
disliked  to  refuse  any  favor  asked  of  him,  and  so  averse 
was  he  to  punishment  of  any  kind,  that  he  soon  found 
his  new  situation  a  very  perplexing  one.  Hardly  had  he 
assumed  command,  before  such  of  the  secessionists  as 
remained  in  Alexandria  commenced  to  ask  favors  at  his 
hands.  In  all  cases,  where  he  possibly  could,  it  gave  him 
as  much  or  more  pleasure  to  grant  their  requests  than 
for  them  to  receive  the  favors.  This  soon  became  known 
to  extreme  Unionists,  who  thereupon  called  the  General 
"a  rebel  in  disguise."  When  this  came  to  the  General's 
ears,  it  distressed  him  greatly.  It  also  distressed  him  as 
much,  or  more,  to  learn  that  some  Alexandrians  who 
remained  were  practising  great  cruelty  towards  some  white 
citizens,  and  especially  towards  their  slaves,  because  they 


164     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

had  dared  to  express  Union  sentiments.  And  still 
another  source  of  great  annoyance  to  him  was,  that  great 
numbers  of  soldiers  came  into  the  city  every  day — some 
got  drunk,  abused  citizens,  created  brawls  in  the  streets, 
and  then  left  without  so  much  as  saying  "  by  your  leave, 
sir."  Other  disputes  and  disturbances  were  occurring, 
almost  daily,  among  the  citizens,  which,  when  all  other 
means  failed,  would  be  referred  to  him  for  settlement, 
since,  as  heretofore  stated,  there  were  no  courts  left  in  the 
city  to  whom  such  disputes  could  be  referred.  To  or 
ganize  a  court-martial  and  keep  it  in  session  all  the  while 
would  take  a  number  of  officers  from  their  regular  duties, 
and  seemed  utterly  impracticable.  To  undertake  to 
arbitrate  and  decide  all  cases  himself,  seemed  not  less 
impracticable,  if  not  impossible ;  and  as  to  prescribing 
punishment  to  others,  he  would  almost  prefer  to  take  it 
upon  himself. 

Every  day  he  talked  these  troublesome  matters  over 
with  his  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  and  finally  requested 
him  to  draw  up,  and  submit  to  him,  in  writing,  a  plan  for 
governing  the  city.  This  he  did  on  the  day  following  the 
request.  The  leading  feature  of  the  plan  submitted  was 
to  organize  a  provost-court,  over  which  some  officer 
should  preside  as  provost-judge,  who  should  hear  and 
adjudicate  all  cases  of  whatsoever  kind  brought  before 
him.  To  arrest  delinquents  and  enforce  the  orders  of 
the  provost-court,  the  plan  proposed  that  the  soldiers, 
detailed  for  sentinel  duty  in  the  city,  should  be  organized 
into  a  provost-guard,  with  a  provost-marshal  at  their 
head;  that  both  the  marshal  and  guard  should  be  subject 
to  the  direct  orders  of  the  provost-judge ;  and  that  the 
provost-judge  should  submit  his  doings,  every  day,  to  the 
military  governor  for  his  approval,  amendment,  or  rever 
sal,  since  he  alone  was  responsible  to  the  general  govern 
ment  for  what  was  done  within  his  command.  General 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  165 

Montgomery  considered  the  plan  carefully  and  decided 
to  adopt  it.  He  then  asked  his  Adjutant  to  accept  the 
appointment  of  provost-judge,  and  perform  its  duties,  in 
addition  to  such  as  he  had  as  Assistant  Adjutant-General 
of  the  post.  At  first  the  Adjutant  declined,  not  seeing 
how  it  was  possible  for  him  to  perform  both  duties,  since 
either  one  of  them  seemed  quite  as  much  as  any  one  man 
could  perform.  The  General  urged  that,  as  he  would 
be  held  officially  responsible  for  whatever  the  provost- 
judge  might  do,  he  must  have  some  one  in  whom  he  had 
implicit  confidence,  some  one  whom  he  could  see  and 
converse  with  at  every  meal-time,  some  one  who  was 
familiar  with  the  workings  of  courts  of  justice,  and  since 
he,  the  Adjutant,  had  drawn  up  the  plan,  there  was  no  one 
whom  he  could  detail  that  could  put  the  plan  in  operation 
so  well  as  he.  The  Adjutant,  on  the  other  hand,  urged 
that  his  duties  were  already  quite  as  much  as  he  could 
perform  satisfactorily  to  himself;  that  almost  every  day 
he  had  quartermaster,  commissary,  and  hospital  reports 
to  examine  and  sign ;  passes  and  permits  to  consider  and 
issue,  etc. ;  all  of  which  involved  the  writing,  *'  By  order 
of  Brigadier-General  Montgomery,  J.  R.  Freese,  A.  A.  G.," 
from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  times  each  day,  which 
usually  occupied  every  minute  of  his  time.  It  was  finally 
arranged  that  the  General  should  detail  two  additional 
clerks  for  the  Adjutant's  office,  and  one  to  write  up  the 
records  of  the  court  at  every  sitting,  and  thereupon  the 
Adjutant  consented  to  enter  upon  the  additional  duty  of 
provost-judge  of  the  city.  The  General  issued  the  nec 
essary  order,  over  his  own  signature,  and  on  the  day  fol 
lowing  the  Adjutant  entered  upon  his  new  duties. 

The  court-house  had  not  been  used  for  any  purpose 
since  the  evacuation  of  the  city  by  the  Confederates.  Men 
were  now  put  to  work  in  cleaning  and  fitting  it  up  for  the 
purposes  of  the  new  provost-court.  A  large  building  on 


l66     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  outskirts  of  the  city,  which  had  been  used  for  the 
temporary  detention  of  slaves,  and  therefore  called  a 
"  slave-pen,"  was  cleaned  and  fitted  up  as  a  guard-house. 
The  old  jail  was  cleaned,  whitewashed,  and  renovated 
generally.  A  large,  empty  building,  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  was  fitted  up  for  the  provost-marshal's  office,  and  as 
quarters  for  the  guards.  Captain  Griffiths,  of  Pennsylva 
nia,  the  senior  captain  of  the  companies  then  on  duty  as 
sentinels,  was  appointed  provost-marshal,  and  the  two 
companies  then  on  duty  organized  as  a  provost-guard. 
The  duty  assigned  them  was  to  arrest  every  drunken 
man — officer,  private,  or  citizen — whom  they  observed  to 
be  disturbing  the  peace  of  the  city,  whether  at  hotels, 
drinking  saloons,  on  the  streets,  or  elsewhere;  to  take 
them,  so  soon  as  arrested,  to  the  officer  in  charge  at  the 
guard-house  and  report  all  the  facts  to  him;  if  the  officer 
at  the  guard -house  deemed  the  complaint  to  be  of  such 
seriousness  as  to  require  a  further  hearing,  the  arrested 
party  was  to  be  locked  up  until  the  next  sitting  of  the 
provost-court,  when  he  was  to  be  brought  before  that 
court  for  trial.  This  was  to  be  the  procedure  not  only  in 
cases  of  drunkenness,  but  in  all  other  cases  of  petty  mis 
demeanor.  If,  however,  the  offence  was  of  a  more  serious 
character,  the  party  arrested  was  to  be  taken  at  once 
before  the  provost-marshal,  and  all  the  facts  immediately 
after  reported  to  the  provost-judge.  If  he  deemed  the 
charges  sufficiently  strong  to  hold  the  arrested  party,  he 
was  then  to  be  sent  to  the  county  jail  and  there  held  until 
next  day,  or  until  the  court  was  ready  to  try  the  case, 
which  usually  was  on  the  day  following  the  arrest.  It 
was  arranged  that  a  session  of  the  provost-court  should 
be  held  every  day  (Sundays  excepted)  at  the  court-house, 
commencing  at  ten  o'clock,  and  continue  until  all  the 
cases  were  disposed  of.  Usually  this  could  be  done  be- 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED. 

tween  ten  and  twelve  o'clock ;  but  occasionally  the  ses^ 
sions  extended  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 

After  all  needed  arrangements  had  been  completed,  the 
Judge's  horse — saddled,  bridled,  and  with  a  pair  of  loaded 
revolvers  in  the  holsters — might  be  seen  every  morning, 
at  precisely  nine  and  a  half  o'clock,  standing  before  the 
General's  headquarters.  At  precisely  a  quarter  to  ten, 
Judge  Freese  would  come  out  of  the  Adjutant's  office 
in  full  uniform,  mount  his  horse,  and,  usually  on  a 
full  gallop,  ride  to  the  court-house,  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant  from  the  headquarters.  On  reaching  the 
court-house  the  Judge  dismounted,  a  soldier  took  charge 
of  his  horse,  and  he  passed  in  to  take  his  seat  on  the 
bench.  Generally,  the  guards,  and  the  prisoners  from 
the  guard-house,  were  already  in  waiting — every  guard 
standing  at  attention,  with  loaded  musket  and  fixed  bay 
onet.  It  was  from  this  fact  that  it  was  sometimes  desig 
nated,  by  New  York  journals  and  others,  as  "Judge 
Freese's  Bayonet  Court."  The  clerk,  acting  as  "  crier," 
then  announced  that  the  "  court  was  now  open  for  busi 
ness,"  and  immediately  after  handed  the  Judge  a  list  con 
taining  the  names  of  all  the  prisoners  at  the  bar,  with  the 
nature  of  the  offence  charged  against  each.  The  Judge, 
beginning  with  No.  I,  would  call  for  the  evidence  of  the 
sentinel  making  the  arrest,  and  then  for  the  evidence  of 
others  who  might  know  anything  of  the  case.  When 
the  evidence  for  the  prosecution  had  closed,  the  accused 
was  asked  to  say  anything  he  could  in  his  own  defence,  and 
to  produce  any  witnesses  he  might  have.  It  was  plainly 
to  be  seen  that  the  Judge  always  leaned  towards  mercy ; 
that  he  encouraged  and  aided  the  prisoner  in  the  making 
of  a  defence,  if  any  were  possible  ;  that  never,  at  any  time, 
did  he  speak  harshly  to  a  prisoner  at  the  bar ;  but  even 
in  his  sentences  so  tempered  his  words  with  kindness 
and  good  advice  as  to  make  the  accused  determine  to  do 


168     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

better  in  the  future.  At  no  session  of  the  court,  nor  at 
any  time  after,  was  a  prisoner  ever  known  to  complain  of 
his  treatment  by  the  Judge,  such  was  his  uniform  kind 
ness  and  courtesy  towards  all  who  were  brought  before 
him,  whether  citizens  or  soldiers,  white  or  black.  When 
all  the  evidence  was  in  on  both  sides,  the  Judge  an 
nounced  the  sentence  and  the  clerk  recorded  it.  The 
book  in  which  the  record  was  kept  was  open  to  the  in 
spection  and  revision  of  the  General  commanding  (mili 
tary  governor)  every  day,  so  that  he  might,  if  he  chose, 
at  once  change  or  reverse  any  sentence  which  the  Judge 
had  passed  upon  any  prisoner.  The  number  of  cases  tried 
each  day  varied  from  ten  to  thirty.  Most  of  them  were 
of  a  minor  character,  and  the  punishment,  consequently, 
very  light.  Often  the  one  day  or  one  night's  deten 
tion  in  the  guard-house,  which  they  had  already  received, 
was  deemed  sufficient ;  in  other  more  serious  cases,  a  fine 
of  from  one  to  five  dollars,  or  further  confinement  in  the 
guard-house  or  in  the  jail  from  one  to  five  days,  was  im 
posed  ;  but  now  and  then  a  case  of  far  graver  character 
was  brought  before  the  court,  one  of  which  we  will  now 
relate. 

Mr.  A.  was  an  old  resident  of  Alexandria,  and  for 
many  years  had  been  engaged  in  business  as  a  hardware 
merchant.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth ;  a  man  of  gen 
eral  good  character,  a  hearty  secessionist,  and  would  have 
gone  when  the  others  left,  only  that  his  family  and  his 
business  were  in  such  condition  that  the  one  could  not 
be  removed,  nor  could  the  other  be  closed  without  very 
great  discomfort  and  a  large  sacrifice.  He  therefore  con 
cluded  to  take  his  chances  of  remaining,  and  did  remain. 

Mr.  B.  had  been  a  resident  of  Alexandria  for  several 
years.  Had  been  one  of  the  builders,  and  was  then  super 
intendent,  of  the  gas-works  of  that  city.  He  was  a  New 
Englander  by  birth,  and  an  earnest  Unionist  from  the  day 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  169 

the  contest  opened  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
Though  a  very  quiet  man,  and  never  speaking  upon 
political  or  warlike  matters,  except  when  in  situations 
where  he  must  speak  or  show  cowardice,  yet  when  thus 
compelled  to  speak  he  never  failed  to  express  his  honest 
sentiments. 

Messrs.  A.  and  B.  had  been  warm  personal  friends  for 
several  years,  the  latter  purchasing  all  the  hardware 
needed  for  the  gas-works  of  the  former,  and  being  in  his 
store  frequently,  as  well  for  pastime  as  on  business.  Un 
til  the  war  commenced  there  had  never  been  a  word  of 
difference  between  them,  and  since  it  commenced  they 
had  rarely  spoken  upon  the  subject,  for  each  well  knew 
the  other's  sentiments,  and  neither  desired  a  rupture  of 
friendly  relations.  On  the  day  in  which  a  rupture  did 
occur,  Mr.  B.  went  to  Mr.  A.'s  store  to  make  a  purchase 
of  some  article,  when  in  some  way  the  conversation  be 
tween  them  turned  upon  the  war.  For  some  cause  Mr. 
A.  seemed  to  be  in  a  specially  bad-humor  that  day,  and 
very  soon  commenced  to  use  most  violent  language 
toward  the  "  Yankees  "  and  the  Union  troops.  Mr.  B. 
replied,  at  first  very  mildly,  but  one  word  led  to  another, 
until  erelong  both  became  angry  and  talked  loud.  All 
of  a  sudden  Mr.  A.,  who  was  a  large,  powerful  man,  seized 
Mr.  B.,  who  was  a  much  smaller,  weaker  man,  by  the 
throat,  and  hurled  him  to  the  floor.  Then,  seizing  a  large 
butcher-knife  which  chanced  to  lay  upon  the  counter,  he 
held  it  threateningly  over  B.'s  breast,  and  said  he  would 
kill  him  instantly  unless  he  would  promise  not  to  report 
the  conversation  they  had  had  and  the  difficulty  following 
it  to  Provost-Judge  Freese.  Of  course,  such  noise  and 
confusion  brought  others  into  the  store,  and  before  the 
promise  could  be  exacted  others  had  seized  and  dragged 
Mr.  A.  from  off  his  prostrate  antagonist.  Mr.  B.  went 
from  the  store  direct  to  military  headquarters  and  re- 
15 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

ported  all  that  had  occurred  to  Judge  Freese.  A  formal 
statement,  as  detailed  by  Mr.  B.,  was  then  drawn  up  by 
the  Judge  and  subscribed  and  sworn  to  by  Mr.  B.  It 
was  then  afternoon,  and  too  late  to  try  the  case  that  day. 
The  Judge,  therefore,  issued  an  order  to  the  Provost-Mar 
shal  to  arrest  Mr.  A.  at  once,  lock  him  up  in  the  county 
jail,  and  bring  him  before  the  court  next  morning  at  ten 
o'clock — all  of  which  was  done  precisely  as  ordered.  The 
arrest  of  so  prominent  a  man  as  A.  spread  throughout  the 
city  at  once.  Before  sundown  there  was  scarcely  a  man  or 
a  woman  in  the  whole  city  who  did  not  know  of  it,  and 
General  Montgomery  was  besieged  by  Mr.  A.'s  wife,  by 
his  daughters,  and  by  several  of  his  secession  friends  to 
order  his  release  at  once.  The  General,  having  learned 
the  facts  from  his  Adjutant,  only  replied  that  "  things  must 
take  their  course ;  that  the  trial,  and  that  only,  could  de 
velop  whether  Mr.  A.  was  guilty  or  not,  and,  if  he  was,  he 
could  not  and  would  not  interfere  with  the  Judge  in  the 
infliction  of  a  proper  punishment,  however  much  he  re 
gretted  the  difficulty  and  sympathized  with  those  who 
were  afflicted  by  it." 

The  next  day  the  court-room  was  crowded  in  every 
part,  and  promptly  at  ten  o'clock  the  crier  announced  the 
court  open  for  business.  After  all  the  other  cases  had 
been  disposed  of,  that  of  Mr.  A.  was  called.  The  wit 
nesses,  both  for  the  prosecution  and  for  the  defence,  were 
examined  carefully  and  patiently  by  the  Judge  and  by  the 
defendant.  Then  the  defendant  was  invited  to  say  what 
ever  he  could  in  his  own  defence.  The  defendant  had  a 
lawyer  present  to  suggest  and  prompt  him,  but  the  law 
yer  would  not  appear  as  his  formal  attorney,  for  the  reason 
that  some  time  before  the  Judge  had  announced  that,  as 
that  was  a  United  States  court,  no  lawyer  could  appear  in 
it,  as  attorney  for  another,  unless  he  would  take,  if  asked, 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  Government, 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  1^1 

and  the  lawyer  present  being  an  avowed  secessionist,  he 
well  knew  that  if  he  attempted  to  act  as  an  attorney  for 
his  friend  A.,  he  would  at  once  be  tendered  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  take  or  refuse.  He  therefore  contented  him 
self  with  whispering  in  his  friend's  ear,  without  presum 
ing  to  appear  as  his  attorney.  The  facts,  as  heretofore 
stated,  were  all  proved  beyond  any  possible  doubt.  In 
deed,  the  defendant  himself  scarcely  made  a  denial  of  any 
one  of  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  B.  He  only  pleaded, 
in  extenuation,  that  he  had  no  ill-will  towards  Mr.  B.,  and 
that  whatever  was  said  or  done  was  from  an  excess  of 
passion  for  the  moment,  which  he  could  not  control ;  that 
he  greatly  regretted  all  that  had  happened,  and  would 
promise  the  court  that  the  like  should  never  happen 
again.  He  also  produced  several  witnesses  to  prove  his 
previous  good  character. 

Before  pronouncing  sentence,  the  Judge  took  occasion 
to  say  that  the  court  had  been  organized  for  the  special 
purpose  of  maintaining  the  peace  of  the  city.  That,  in 
the  absence  of  all  other  courts,  this  was  the  only  judicial 
power  to  which  citizens  of  Alexandria  could  look  for  the 
protection  of  their  lives  and  their  property,  and  in  this 
respect  it  was  as  much  of  a  protection  to  the  avowed 
secessionist  as  to  the  Unionist;  that  the  lives  and  the 
property  of  the  one  or  of  the  other  were  equally  under 
the  protection  of  the  court.  While,  he  added,  the  court 
could  not,  and  would  not,  recognize  secession  as  a  legal 
right,  and  while  no  secessionist,  as  such,  could  have  any 
legal  standing  in  that  court,  professionally  or  otherwise, 
yet  the  court  would,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum 
stances,  use  whatever  power  it  possessed  to  protect  the 
lives  and  property  of  avowed  secessionists.  If,  then,  it 
was  thus  ready  to  protect  secessionists  in  their  personal 
and  property  rights,  certainly  it  should  not  be  less  willing 
to  protect  Unionists.  Nor  would  it  be  less  ready  to  pro- 


1/2     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

tect  Union  men  so  long  as  he  remained  the  Judge  of  the 
court.  In  conclusion,  the  Judge  said  that,  in  considera 
tion  of  Mr.  A.'s  previous  good  character,  in  the  absence 
of  all  premeditation,  and  in  consideration  of  other  ex 
tenuating  circumstances  surrounding  the  case,  he  would 
make  the  sentence  of  this  defendant  very  light,  but  gave 
fair  warning,  then  and  there,  to  all  the  residents  of  Alex 
andria,  and  to  such  as  came  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
court,  though  not  residents  of  the  city,  that  should  there 
be  any  further  assaults  upon  Union  men,  whether  by 
word  or  by  act,  the  court  would  punish  the  offender  with 
much  greater  severity.  He  then  sentenced  Mr.  A.  to 
pay  a  fine  of  five  hundred  dollars,  and  to  stand  committed 
to  the  county  jail  until  the  fine  was  paid.  "  Of  course," 
the  Judge  added,  "  this  does  not  relieve  Mr.  A.  from  the 
payment  of  damages  to  Mr.  B.  for  any  injuries  he  may 
have  sustained  at  the  hands  of  A.,  and  for  which  he  may 
choose  to  prosecute  in  an  action  for  damages."  The 
court  then  adjourned,  and  Mr.  A.  was  ordered  back  to 
the  county  jail  until  the  fine  was  paid. 

Mr.  A.  and  his  friends  were  very  indignant  at  the  sen 
tence  ;  said  it  should  never  be  paid ;  that  he  would  rot 
in  the  jail  first ;  that  they  would  appeal  to  General  Mc- 
Clellan,  to  the  President,  to  the  Cabinet,  to  Congress ; 
but  to  all  such  threats  the  Judge  only  replied,  when  they 
came  to  his  ears,  "  He  shall  have  all  the  opportunities  he 
wants  for  appeal,  but  until  the  fine  is  paid,  or  the  judg 
ment  set  aside  by  a  higher  authority,  he  must  remain  in 
jail."  That  afternoon  and  evening  every  possible  effort 
was  made  with  General  Montgomery  and  with  Judge 
Freese  to  have  him  released  on  bail,  but  without  avail. 
Next  day,  when  the  court  opened,  a  friend  of  Mr.  A.  was 
present  with  five  hundred  dollars  in  silver,  which  he  paid 
down,  and  thereupon  received  an  order  from  the  Judge 
for  Mr.  A.'s  release  from  jail.  That  money,  as  all  other 


HOW    ORDER    WAS    MAINTAINED.  1/3 

received  by  the  court  for  fines,  and  not  used  for  feeding 
the  prisoners  and  other  incidental  court  expenses,  was 
deposited  with  the  United  States  Treasurer,  at  Washing 
ton,  to  await  such  further  action  as  might  be  had  in  this 
or  in  any  other  case. 

In  pursuance  of  their  threats,  Mr.  A.  and  his  friends  at 
once  went  to  work  to  have  the  fine  refunded,  and  finally, 
after  several  months'  effort,  succeeded  in  getting  General 
McClellan  to  issue  an  order  on  General  Montgomery  for 
the  refunding  of  the  money.  This  was  done  by  an  order 
on  the  United  States  Treasurer  for  the  five  hundred 
dollars. 

Mr.  A.  got  his  money  back,  but  neither  he  nor  any 
other  secessionist  of  Alexandria  ever  again  made  an 
assault,  with  threat  to  kill,  upon  a  Union  man ;  nor  did 
any  Union  man  make  a  like  assault  or  threat  upon  a 
secessionist.  And,  better  still,  it  had  the  effect  to  con 
vince  every  secessionist  that  Judge  Freese's  court  was 
no  respecter  of  persons ;  that  while  it  punished  such  of 
the  poor  as  violated  the  law,  it  was  no  less  ready  to 
punish  the  rich ;  and  that  a  Union  man  in  Alexandria 
would  be  protected  by  the  court  with  as  much  vigilance 
as  one  could  possibly  be  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia. 
The  refunding  of  the  fine,  however,  proved  that  General 
McClellan  and  his  advisers,  while  pretending  great  love 
for  the  Union,  were  largely  in  sympathy  with  the  seces 
sionists,  and  would,  so  far  as  they  could,  undo  anything 
the  Provost-Court  might  do  in  punishing  rebels  and  pro 
tecting  loyal  men.  General  Montgomery  and  Judge 
Freese,  being  convinced  that  such  would  thenceforth  be 
the  policy  of  General  McClellan  and  his  advisers,  tried 
thereafter  to  so  shape  the  proceedings  of  the  court  that 
General  McClellan  should  know  as  little  about  it,  and 
have  as  little  to  do  with  it,  as  possible — believing  (as 
afterwards  proved  true)  that  he  would  not  only  thwart  iti 
15* 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

proceedings,  but  really  abolish  the  court  altogether,  when 
ever  he  could  see  that  he  could  do  so  without  calling 
down  upon  himself  and  political  associates  condemnation 
from  the  administration. 

Thus  has  been  stated  the  how  and  why  of  the  organ 
ization  of  the  Provost-Court  at  Alexandria ;  some  of  the 
details  of  its  workings,  so  far  as  appertained  to  its  mu 
nicipal  or  police  duties ;  its  happy  effect  upon  the  com 
parative  quiet  of  the  city ;  and  its  restraining  power  on 
the  belligerent  disposition  of  some  of  its  citizens.  What 
other  powers  the  court  was  called  upon  to  exercise, 
and  how  it  exercised  them,  will  be  reserved  for  future 
chapters. 


176 


CHAPTER    XII. 

JUDGE   FREEZES  "BAYONET  COURT." 
OTHER    POWERS,    AND    HOW    EXERCISED. 

HARDLY  had  the  Provost-Court  at  Alexandria  been 
organized  before  reporters  for  Northern  journals 
began  to  call  upon  the  General  and  upon  the  Judge  for 
details  of  its  doings,  and  soon  thereafter  reports,  to  a 
slight  extent,  of  its  operations  began  to  appear  in  some 
journals  under  the  caption  of  Judge  Freese's  "  Bayonet 
Court" — the  same  as  placed  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 
One  illustrated  paper  of  New  York  city  had  a  full-page 
cut,  representing  the  Judge  upon  the  bench  in  military 
uniform,  with  his  clerk  sitting  at  his  right,  and  his  sword 
laying  upon  the  desk  at  his  left,  with  guards  standing  at 
attention,  each  with  musket  and  fixed  bayonet;  with  a 
score  or  more  of  prisoners  in  the  dock,  all  with  woe 
begone  faces ;  with  the  Provost-Marshal,  in  full  uniform, 
standing  in  front  of  the  Judge,  awaiting  his  orders;  with 
lookers-on  all  about;  and  with  all  the  other  paraphernalia 
of  a  crowded  city  court- room. 

It  was  not  for  show,  by  any  means,  that  the  Judge  rode 
to  the  court  in  uniform,  with  loaded  revolvers  in  his 
holsters ;  nor  was  it  for  show  that  he  sat  upon  the  bench 
in  uniform,  and  had  guards  about  him  with  loaded  mus 
kets  and  fixed  bayonets.  Almost  from  the  day  that  the  court 
commenced  its  sittings,  the  secessionists  who  remained 
in  Alexandria  began  to  sneer  at  the  court,  and  some  even 
went  so  far  as  to  threaten  the  Judge  with  assassination. 

M  177 


1/8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

These  facts  were  communicated  to  the  Judge  by  friends, 
and  through  secret  detectives,  whom  the  Provost-Marshal 
had  employed  to  watch  every  movement  in  the  city.  It 
was,  therefore,  literally  true  that  the  Judge  "  carried  his 
life  in  his  hand  "  every  moment,  and  was  liable  to  assault 
and  attempted  assassination  every  time  he  rode  to  the 
court-room,  every  time  he  took  his  seat  upon  the  bench, 
every  time  he  walked  the  streets.  But  a  still  greater 
reason  for  this  display  of  power,  and  of  constant  readi 
ness  to  meet  every  emergency,  was,  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city  might  be  impressed  with  the  power  of  the 
court,  and  the  source  from  which  it  derived  that  power — 
namely,  the  military.  Without  such  impression  of  power 
among  the  citizens,  the  orders  of  the  court  would  not 
have  been  respected  and  obeyed,  and  twice,  if  not  four 
times,  the  number  of  guards  would  have  been  needed  to 
enforce  its  orders  and  maintain  quiet  in  the  city.  To 
relate  a  few  of  the  cases  which  came  before  the  court, 
under  this  particular  head,  will  better  illustrate  the  facts 
above  stated  than  any  amount  of  theorizing. 

One  day,  the  General  informed  the  Judge  that,  as  he 
was  passing  along  King  Street,  two  females,  dressed  as 
ladies,  overtook  and  passed  him,  and,  as  they  passed,  they 
gathered  up  their  skirts  and  held  them  from  him,  and 
made  other  signs  of  derision  and  contempt,  as  though 
he,  the  General,  was  the  vilest  of  all  vile  creatures.  After 
they  had  passed,  he  inquired  of  a  citizen  and  learned  that 
they  were  the  wives  of  two  noted  secessionists,  who  still 
remained  in  the  city. 

About  the  same  time  several  officers,  and  quite  a  num 
ber  of  the  guards,  told  the  Judge  that,  while  the  men  of 
the  city  treated  them  with  entire  respect,  the  women  and 
the  children  of  secession  citizens  insulted  them  almost 
daily — the  women  by  various  acts  of  contempt,  and  the 
children  by  calling  them  vile  names  and  throwing  stones 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."        179 

at  them.  They  had  borne,  they  said,  these  things  a  long 
time  without  seeming  to  notice  them,  and  without  com 
plaint;  but  the  longer  and  more  they  forbore,  the  oftener 
and  viler  became  the  insults,  and  they  could  stand  it  no 
longer  without  making  complaint  to  the  court. 

The  Judge  thereupon  announced  in  open  court,  that 
from  thenceforth  any  woman,  or  any  child,  who  offered  an 
insult,  or  threw  a  stone  or  other  missile  at  any  officer  or 
soldier  upon  the  public  .streets,  should  be  promptly  ar 
rested  and  inquired  of  as  to  who  was  their  husband, 
father,  brother,  or  other  near  male  relative.  That,  if  the 
guard  making  the  arrest  was  not  entirely  satisfied  as  to 
the  truthfulness  of  the  answers  made,  the  woman  or  child 
should  be  at  once  brought  to  the  office  of  the  Provost- 
Marshal  or  of  the  Judge,  for  such  further  questioning  and 
disposition  as  either  might  deem  proper  in  the  case.  That, 
upon  ascertaining,  without  doubt,  the  name  and  where 
abouts  of  the  husband,  father,  or  brother,  the  woman  or 
child  should  be  dismissed,  and  the  husband,  father,  or 
brother  of  the  one  offending  should  be  immediately  ar 
rested,  locked  up  in  jail  until  next  day,  and  then  brought 
before  the  court  for  trial  and  sentence.  Or,  if  the  woman 
arrested  proved  to  be  a  courtesan,  or,  if  the  child  had  no 
father  or  adult  brother  who  could  answer  for  him  or  her, 
then  the  woman  herself,  or  the  child,  should  be  locked 
up  in  jail  until  the  next  day,  and  then  brought  before  the 
court  for  trial  and  sentence. 

Within  twenty-four  hours  after  this  order  was  promul 
gated  from  the  bench,  it  was  known  to  every  man,  woman, 
and  half-grown  child  of  the  city.  Of  course,  there  were 
deep  mutterings,  some  cursing,  and  not  a  few  threats, 
especially  against  Judge  Freese,  but  the  effect  was  won 
derful  and  immediate.  So  wholesome  a  dread  did  it 
produce  on  the  minds  of  those  who  had  been  offering 
such  insults,  daily,  and  almost  every  hour  of  the  day,  that 


l8O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

there  was  only  one  instance  in  which  the  order  had  to  be 
executed.  That  was  the  case  of  a  child,  who  called  vile 
names  and  threw  stones  at  one  of  the  guards,  while  at 
his  post.  The  child  was  promptly  arrested,  the  name  of 
hiss  father  ascertained,  the  child  dismissed,  and  the  father 
at  once  arrested  and  locked  up  until  next  day.  When 
brought  before  the  court,  the  father  proved  one  of  the 
most  pronounced  secessionists  of  the  city,  and,  instead  of 
apologizing  for  the  rude  acts  of  his  son,  rather  approved 
of  what  he  had  done.  The  Judge  tried  to  reason  with 
him  as  to  the  impropriety  of  such  conduct  towards  any 
one,  and  especially  towards  a  guard,  whose  duty  and  busi 
ness  it  was  to  protect  the  lives  and  property  of  seces 
sionists  no  less  than  of  Unionists.  But  the  longer  the 
Judge  reasoned,  the  more  obstinate  the  defendant  became, 
until  finally  the  Judge  said  he  would  have  to  make  a 
slight  example  in  his  case,  and  thereupon  sentenced  him 
to  ten  days  in  the  county  jail — promising  that  the  next 
person  arrested  for  a  like  offence  should  receive  a  sentence 
doubly,  if  not  quadruply,  as  great.  The  news  of  the 
arrest  and  sentence  was  speedily  known  in  every  house 
of  the  city,  and  from  thenceforth  no  other  arrest  was 
necessary  for  a  like  offence.  The  recognized  power  of 
the  court  had  done  the  work,  with  but  one  arrest  and 
punishment  as  an  example.  But  for  this  recognized  power, 
at  least  a  hundred  arrests  would  have  been  needed  before 
the  evil  could  have  been  abated. 

Another  instance  of  the  recognition  of  the  power  of 
the  court  was  as  follows :  One  of  the  Episcopal  ministers 
of  the  city  was  known  to  be  in  the  habit  of  omitting  the 
prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United  States,  found  in 
the  morning  service  of  the  Episcopal  prayer-book.  The 
fact  was  told  to  the  Provost-Judge,  and  he  was  asked  by 
some  over-zealous  Unionists  to  send  a  note  to  the  minister, 
requiring  him  to  use  the  prayer,  or  be  subject  to  arrest  in 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."         iSi 

case  he  refused.  The  Judge  declined  to  do  any  such  thing 
— telling  his  informants,  that  whether  the  minister  used 
that  prayer  or  not  was  purely  a  matter  of  conscience,  and 
that  it  was  no  part  of  his  business,  or  the  business  of  his 
court,  to  interfere  in  matters  of  conscience ;  that  he  fully 
agreed  with  Roger  Williams  in  the  opinion,  that  the  civil 
or  military  authorities  of  a  town,  city,  or  state,  "  have  no 
more  right  to  command  over  the  souls  and  consciences  of 
their  subjects  than  the  master  of  a  ship  has  over  those  of 
his  passengers  or  the  sailors  under  him,  although  he  may 
justly  see  to  the  labor  of  the  one,  and  the  civil  behavior 
of  all  in  the  ship;"  that  so  long  as  the  Episcopal  minis 
ter,  and  those  who  attended  his  church,  deported  them 
selves  as  quiet  citizens,  attending  to  their  own  affairs  and 
not  interfering  with  the  affairs  of  others,  no  matter  what 
might  be  their  sentiments  on  religious  or  political  affairs, 
they  were  entitled  to  protection  in  their  persons  and 
property,  and  should  have  it. 

Those  who  reported  the  minister  and  desired  his  arrest 
were  not  at  all  pleased  with  Judge  Freese's  reply,  and 
tried  hard  to  get  up  some  feeling  against  him  among  the 
Union  men  of  the  city;  but  utterly  failed  in  the  attempt. 
The  Judge's  Union  sentiments  were  too  well  known,  and 
had  been  too  often  tested,  to  allow  any  one  who  knew 
him  to  doubt  him  for  a  moment.  Failing  to  make  any 
impression  against  the  Judge  among  the  Union  men  of 
the  city,  these  over-zealous  busybodies  next  tried  their 
hands  among  the  officers  of  troops  which  lay  about  the 
city.  It  chanced,  just  at  that  time,  that  a  regiment  of 
Illinois  cavalry  was  encamped  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
city,  whose  officers  were  known  to  be  among  the  most 
violent  abolitionists  of  the  country ;  men  who  believed, 
or  pretended  to  believe,  that  no  man  who  lived  in  a  slave 
State  had  any  rights  which  a  Union  man  was  bound  to 
respect — not  even  the  right  of  conscience.  To  these 
16 


182     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

officers  these  busybodies  told  the  story  about  the  Epis 
copal  minister  omitting  the  prayer  for  the  President  in 
the  morning  service  of  the  prayer-book ;  and  also  of 
their  having  told  the  whole  thing  to  Judge  Freese,  and 
of  his  refusing  to  issue  an  order  to  the  minister  to  use 
the  prayer  or  be  subject  to  arrest. 

One  of  their  listeners,  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
regiment,  became  so  interested  in  their  story  as  to  vol 
unteer  at  once  to  bring  the  recusant  minister  to  speedy 
justice ;  nor  did  he  care  "  a  snap  of  his  finger  for  Judge 
Freese,  or  for  any  other  judge."  Several  other  officers 
of  the  regiment  volunteered  to  join  him,  and  the  plan 
agreed  upon  was  that,  on  the  following  Sabbath,  they 
would  all  attend  the  Episcopal  service,  and  when  the 
Rev.  Doctor  came  to  the  part  where  the  prayer  for  the 
President  occurs,  in  the  "  morning  service,"  if  he  failed 
to  read  it,  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  would  arise  in  his  seat 
and  demand  tnat  it  be  read,  and  if  the  minister  refused, 
then  to  arrest  him,  and  take  him  to  the  general  head 
quarters.  According  to  appointment,  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  and  his  friends  were  at  the  church  on  the  follow 
ing  Sabbath  morning.  The  congregation  was  not  large, 
but  those  present  seemed  to  be  unusually  devout.  The 
sexton  had  given  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  his  friends 
seats  in  about  the  centre  of  the  church.  The  service  was 
opened  in  the  usual  form.  The  "  general  confession  "  had 
been  repeated,  all  kneeling ;  the  "  declaration  of  absolu 
tion  "  had  been  pronounced ;  the  Lord's  prayer  said  in  a 
clear  but  subdued  voice;  the  "Venite  Exultemus  Domino" 
had  been  sung  by  the  choir;  the  portion  of  the  Psalms 
appointed  for  the  day  read ;  the  "  Te  Deum  Laudamus  " 
sung;  the  lesson  from  the  New  Testament,  according  to 
the  calendar,  read;  the  Apostles'  Creed  repeated;  and 
the  prayers  were  being  read,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  a 
stentorian  voice  was  heard,  saying,  "  I  demand,  sir,  that 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."        183 

you  read  the  prayer  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States."  Had  a  cannon-ball  burst  through  the  walls  of 
the  church  and  fallen  upon  the  floor  just  at  that  instant, 
greater  surprise  would  not  have  been  created.  For  a 
moment  the  minister  stopped  in  his  prayers.  Part  of 
the  congregation  arose  from  their  knees  to  their  feet  and 
looked  wildly  around.  Some  of  the  more  nervous  of 
the  ladies  burst  into  tears.  Confusion  worse  confounded 
seemed  to  pervade  the  whole  congregation.  So  soon  as 
the  minister  recovered  self-possession,  he  commenced  to 
read  the  prayer  "  for  the  clergy  and  people,"  when  again 
a  voice,  louder  than  before,  sounded  throughout  the  church, 
saying,  "  I  demand,  sir,  that  you  read  the  prayer  for  the 
President  of  the  United  States."  Again  the  minister 
stopped,  and  again  confusion  prevailed  for  some  moments. 
When  quiet  again  prevailed,  the  minister,  without  having 
made  any  answer  whatever  to  the  two  former  requests, 
commenced  to  read  the  prayer  for  "all  conditions  of 
men,"  when  again  the  demand  to  read  the  prayer  for  the 
President  was  repeated  in  a  still  louder  and  more  threat 
ening  tone.  The  minister  then  arose  from  his  knees,  and, 
looking  towards  the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  said,  "  My  con 
science  will  not  allow  me,  at  this  time,  to  read  that  prayer, 
and  the  congregation  who  statedly  worship  in  this  church 
have  requested  that  I  should  not  read  it  while  the  war 
between  the  North  and  the  South  continues." 

"  Then,  sir,  you  shall  read  no  others  while  the  war  con 
tinues,  and  I  now  arrest  you  on  the  charge  of  treason," 
said  the  Lieutenant-Colonel. 

This,  of  course,  still  further  increased  the  astonishment 
and  confusion  of  the  congregation.  For  a  few  moments 
every  one  seemed  utterly  dumbfounded.  Meanwhile  the 
Lieutenant-Colonel  and  his  party  left  their  seats,  advanced 
near  the  altar,  and  told  the  minister  he  must  accompany 
them  to  the  general  headquarters.  The  minister  asked 


184     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

whether  he  might  not  first  go  to  the  vestry-room  to  lay 
aside  his  surplice  and  gown.  The  Lieutenant-Colonel  an 
swered,  "  No ;  come  as  you  are."  He  then  came  out 
from  the  chancel,  joined  his  arresters,  and,  in  full  canon 
icals,  without  hat  or  cap,  marched  with  them  through  the 
streets,  several  squares,  to  the  general  headquarters. 

All  this  had  been  done  without  any  knowledge  what 
ever  on  the  part  of  General  Montgomery  or  Judge  Freese, 
nor  could  any  two  have  been  more  astonished  than  they 
were  on  seeing  the  minister  and  hearing  the  story  of  his 
arrest.  The  General  was  annoyed  beyond  measure,  and, 
for  a  time,  hardly  knew  what  to  say  or  to  do.  The  Judge 
was  decidedly  more  self-possessed,  but,  of  course,  said 
nothing.  The  General,  turning  to  the  Judge,  asked  him 
if  he  had  heard  anything  of  the  case  before.  The  Judge 
then  told  the  General  all  that  he  had  known,  and  all  that 
he  had  said  about  it,  as  has  been  heretofore  detailed.  As 
he,  the  Judge,  had  done  nothing,  and  had  refused  to  do  any 
thing,  concerning  it,  of  course  he  had  made  no  report  of 
it  to  the  General,  since  there  was  nothing  to  report.  The 
General, .turning  to  the  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  his  party, 
said  that  he  entirely  agreed  in  sentiment  with  his  Assist 
ant  Adjutant-General ;  that  there  was  no  reason,  not  the 
slightest,  for  the  arrest  of  this  minister;  that  every  officer 
engaged  in  the  arrest  had  made  himself  liable  to  be  put 
in  arrest,  and  tried  by  court-martial,  for  doing  that  which 
he  had  no  right  to  do  as  a  military  man ;  and  that  the 
minister,  upon  complaint  to  the  Provost-Judge,  might  have 
everyone  of  them  arrested  and  tried  by  the  Provost-Court 
for  assault  and  for  a  disturbance  of  public  services.  In 
conclusion,  the  General  discharged  the  minister  from  ar 
rest  and  told  him  that  he  might  go  to  his  own  home, 
when,  turning  to  the  cavalry  officers,  he  said,  "  The  sooner 
you  can  get  back  to  your  own  quarters,  and  the  closer  you 
remain  there  hereafter,  the  better  will  it  be  for  you." 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."    185 

As  might  have  been  expected,  all  this  created  a  great 
amount  of  excitement  on  the  streets  and  about  the  head 
quarters.  The  minister  in  his  white  robes,  in  charge  of 
several  officers  in  full  uniform,  and  with  the  entire  con 
gregation  following  after,  was  such  a  sight  as  had  never 
been  seen  in  Alexandria  before.  Everybody  —  men, 
women,  and  children  —  who  saw  it,  followed  after,  until, 
when  the  headquarters  were  reached,  there  were  several 
hundred  persons  present.  When  the  General's  decision 
in  the  case  became  known  to  the  crowd,  there  was  a 
general  approval,  as  much  among  Unionists  as  among 
secessionists;  but  to  this  there  were  some  exceptions. 
The  officers  and  their  informers,  who  had  been  balked  in 
their  mad  purposes,  felt  chagrined  and  angry,  and  left  the 
headquarters  with  scowling  faces,  as  though  still  bent  on 
mischief.  The  General  and  the  Judge  went  to  their  pri 
vate  quarters,  in  a  building  across  the  street,  nearly  oppo 
site  to  the  general  headquarters.  They  supposed  the 
trouble  ended,  and  that  they  should  hear  nothing  more 
of  it. 

In  about  an  hour  thereafter,  when  the  General  and  the 
Judge  had  just  risen  from  their  mess-table,  an  orderly 
came  rushing  into  their  quarters,  to  say  that  a  large 
crowd  of  cavalry  officers,  soldiers,  and  citizens  were 
gathered  about  the  Episcopal  church,  on  E  Street  (the 
one  in  which  the  minister  had  been  arrested),  and  that 
they  were  threatening  to  burn  it.  The  General  at  once 
buckled  on  his  sword,  and  told  his  Adjutant  to  do  the 
same.  Both  put  their  revolvers  in  their  belts.  The  Judge 
then  told  the  orderly  to  hasten  to  the  Provost-Marshal's 
office,  and  tell  him  to  come  himself,  and  bring  as  many 
officers  and  men  with  him  as  possible  to  the  Episcopal 
church  on  E  Street,  and  there  await  further  orders  from 
the  General  or  himself.  The  General  and  the  Judge  then 
went  to  the  church  in  all  possible  haste,  and  found,  as 
16* 


186     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

had  been  told  them,  several  hundred  soldiers  and  citizens 
gathered  about  it.  In  a  little  while  after,  the  Provost- 
Marshal,  with  a  considerable  number  of  his  guard,  ap 
peared  on  the  ground.  "Burn  it!  burn  it!  burn  it!" 
with  intermingling  oaths,  could  be  heard  every  now  and 
then  from  the  mouths  of  half-crazed  cavalry  soldiers. 
The  General  and  the  Judge  worked  their  way  through 
the  crowd,  and  took  their  stations  directly  in  front  of  the 
church.  The  Provost-Marshal  and  his  guard  also  worked 
their  way  through  the  crowd  to  the  same  place.  The 
General  then  told  the  Judge  to  command  the  peace,  in  as 
loud  a  voice  as  he  could.  The  Judge  did  so,  and  then 
added,  "  If  any  one  attempts  to  set  fire  to  this  church,  he 
will  be  shot  down  at  once — and  all  persons,  whether 
soldiers  or  citizens,  who  are  found  within  five  hundred 
yards  of  this  church  building  after  thirty  minutes  shall 
have  expired,  will  be  arrested  by  the  provost-guard,  put 
in  jail  until  to-morrow,  and  then  brought  before  the 
Provost-Court  for  disturbing  the  peace  and  violating  the 
sanctity  of  the  Sabbath."  Scarcely  had  the  Judge  fin 
ished  his  proclamation,  before  the  crowd  commenced  to 
move  off,  and  before  the  thirty  minutes  had  expired  not 
a  soldier  or  citizen  could  be  seen  on  the  street,  save  the 
General  and  his  party.  Guards  were  then  stationed  at 
every  approach  to  the  church,  with  orders  that  they  should 
be  regularly  relieved  and  the  stations  maintained  until 
otherwise  ordered. 

There  was  no  other  attempt  to  set  fire  to  that  church, 
nor  to  any  other  in  Alexandria,  after  that,  so  long  as 
"Judge  Freese's  bayonet  court"  continued  to  have  an 
existence — nor  could  there  have  been  a  more  signal  in 
stance  to  exemplify  the  acknowledged  power  of  the  court 
than  the  one  just  related.  The  cavalry  regiment  spoken 
of  numbered  over  one  thousand  officers  and  men,  nearly 
every  one  of  whom  held  sentiments  much  the  same,  if 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."         187 

not  precisely  the  same,  as  the  Lieutenant-Colonel.  Within 
a  circle  of  a  few  miles  were  dozens  of  other  regiments, 
nearly  all  of  whom  held  similar  sentiments.  Had  that 
one  church  been  burned  on  that  day,  probably  every  other 
church  and  two-thirds  of  all  the  buildings  in  the  city 
would  have  been  burned  during  the  following  thirty 
days.  To  prevent  that  church  from  being  burned,  there 
were  present  not  more  than  fifty  officers  and  men,  as 
against  at  least  one  thousand  of  an  opposite  sentiment. 
In  physical  power  the  one  was  as  nothing  to  the  other; 
but,  after  the  Judge  had  finished  his  announcement,  there 
was  not  one  of  the  thousand  who  stopped  for  a  moment 
to  question  the  power  of  which  the  Judge  was  the  repre 
sentative.  Had  a  like  power  existed,  and  had  a  like 
power  been  exercised  in  other  cities  of  the  South  occu 
pied  by  Union  troops,  how  many  millions  upon  millions 
of  dollars'  worth  of  property  might  have  been  saved  from 
the  flames ! 

We  will  give  only  one  other  instance  under  this  head, 
though,  if  time  and  space  permitted,  it  would  be  easy  to 
give  scores. 

Mr.  D.  lived  upon  one  of  the  most  fashionable  streets 
of  Alexandria,  and  his  family  had  long  been  regarded 
as  among  the  F.  F.  V.'s  of  the  State.  He  owned  lands  in 
other  parts  of  Virginia  on  which  he  had  a  large  number 
of  slaves,  and  always  kept  a  few  at  his  Alexandria  resi 
dence  to4  wait  upon  his  family.  For  some  cause  Mr.  D. 
did  not  leave  Alexandria  when  other  secessionists  left, 
though  he  took  the  precaution  to  send  all  his  slaves  away 
except  two,  both  females — mother  and  daughter — the  one 
about  forty,  the  other  about  twenty  years  of  age. 

Mr.  H.  lived  next  door  to  Mr.  D.,  and  though  a  North 
ern  man  by  birth,  had  long  been  a  resident  and  merchant 
of  Alexandria.  He  had  always  been  conscientiously  op 
posed  to  owning  slaves,  though  he  had  hired  them  of 


l88     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

others  as  family  servants  ever  since  his  residence  in  the 
city.  The  families  of  Messrs.  D.  and  H.  had  long  been 
on  the  most  friendly  terms,  and  continued  so,  notwith 
standing  the  war,  up  to  the  very  day  on  which  the  inci 
dent  occurred  which  we  are  now  about  to  relate. 

For  some  weeks  previous  to  this  day,  Mrs.  H.  had 
occasionally  heard  terrible,  unearthly  screams  next  door, 
and  had  wondered  again  and  again  what  on  earth  it  could 
mean.  She  had  mentioned  the  fact  to  her  husband,  and 
he  had  suggested  that  it  was  probably  the  cry  of  servants 
being  punished;  but  being  upon  the  most  friendly  terms, 
as  before  stated,  with  their  neighbors,  they  could  not,  and 
did  not,  say  a  word  about  it  to  others.  Thus  matters 
went  on  until  the  day  in  question.  Again  Mrs.  H. 
heard  the  same  fearful,  heart-rending  cries,  and  they  con 
tinued  on  and  on  until  her  very  heart  grew  sick  and  faint. 
Just  then  she  heard  some  one  calling  her  name  loudly 
from  the  back  yard  of  the  next  building,  and,  stepping 
to  the  window,  saw  the  elder  of  Mrs.  D.'s  two  servants 
wringing  her  hands  and  crying  out: 

"  Oh,  come,  Mrs.  H.,  come  quickly !  come  quickly  ! 
They  are  killing  my  child !  they  are  killing  my  child  !  " 

Tears  were  pouring  in  a  stream  from  the  poor  mother's 
eyes,  and  it  seemed  as  though  her  very  heart  would  break 
from  anguish.  Mrs.  H.  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and 
stepping  out  on  her  own  back  porch,  which  adjoined  that 
of  Mrs.  D.'s,  called  out  for  Mrs.  D.,  and  when  she  ap 
peared,  asked  her  what  was  the  cause  of  such  awful 
screaming. 

"  Oh,  nothing,  nothing,"  answered  Mrs.  D.  "  It 's  only 
Jane,  whom  Mr.  D.  is  punishing  for  looking  out  of  the 
windows  at  the  soldiers  as  they  pass.  I  have  told  her 
again  and  again  that  she  should  not  do  it,  and  yet  she 
will  persist  in  it." 

"  But,"  said  Mrs.  H.,  "  was  that  all  ?     Surely  a  young 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."    189 

girl  like  her  could  hardly  do  otherwise  than  look  out  of 
the  windows  when  she  heard  music  and  saw  soldiers 
passing?  Did  she  do  nothing  else,  Mrs.  D.?" 

"  No,  nothing  else,"  answered  Mrs.  D. ;  "but  Mr.  D. 
says  if  she  and  her  mother  are  allowed  to  look  out  of  the 
windows  at  the  soldiers,  they  will  soon  be  wanting  to  run 
away,  and  therefore  we  must  not  allow  them  to  look 
out" 

"They  don't  neglect  their  work,  do  they,  Mrs.  D.?" 
asked  Mrs.  H. 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  Mrs.  D.  "  They  are  both  most 
excellent  servants,  and  never  neglect  their  work  ;  but  hav 
ing  these  Yankee  soldiers  in  the  city  will,  we  fear,  make 
them  want  to  run  away,  and  it  is  only  to  prevent  them 
from  getting  any  such  foolish  notion  in  their  heads  that 
we  have  forbid  them  to  look  out  at  the  windows." 

"  Have  you  had  to  punish  them  often  for  disobeying 
the  order  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  H. 

"Oh,  no,  not  often,"  answered  Mrs.  D.  "  This  is  only 
\hzfifth  time,  I  think,  that  Mr.  D.  has  had  to  whip  Jane 
since  the  Yankee  soldiers  came  into  the  city,  and  her 
mother  has  only  needed  three  punishments  for  the  same 
offence.  Take  them  all  in  all,  there  are,  I  think,  few 
better  servants  in  Alexandria  than  Jane  and  Mary." 

This  ended  the  conversation  between  the  two  ladies  at 
that  time,  and  Mrs.  H.  returned  to  her  own  parlors  a 
sadder,  if  not  a  wiser,  woman.  Within  a  half  hour  Mrs. 
H.  heard  still  louder  and  more  piercing  cries,  and  the 
voice  this  time  was  plainly  that  of  Jane's  mother.  Step 
ping  to  and  opening  one  of  her  back  parlor-windows,  she 
could  distinctly  hear  the  conversation  between  Mr.  D. 
and  Mary,  which  seemed  to  come  from  the  garret  of  the 
house,  the  back  dormer-windows  of  which  chanced  to  be 
open. 

"  Oh,  don't   kill  me,  Mr.  D.,  don't   kill   me !     I  only 


I9O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

called  Mrs.  H.  because  I  thought  you  was  killing  my 
child — she  screamed  so  terribly !  Oh,  please  don't  whip 
me  any  more  this  time,  please !  My  back  is  still  sore 
from  the  last  whipping  you  gave  me,  and  every  stroke 
you  now  give  me  seems  to  cut  into  the  flesh  like  a  knife. 
Oh,  please  don't  whip  me  any  more !  please  don't !  please ! 
please!" 

These  words  from  Mary's  lips  Mrs.  H.  distinguished  as 
plainly  as  though  they  had  been  spoken  at  her  side,  for 
both  Jane  and  her  mother  spoke  most  excellent  English, 
having  always  been  brought  up  as  house  servants,  and 
never  having  imbibed  the  habit  of  using  the  negro  dia 
lect.  Indeed,  in  their  habits  and  manners  they  were  quite 
as  ladylike  as  their  mistress,  nor  could  it  hardly  be  other 
wise,  since  both  from  childhood  had  been  made  to  wait 
upon  ladies  of  education  and  refinement,  and  could 
scarcely  have  failed  to  imbibe  their  language  and  man 
ners.  Pathetic  as  Mary's  pleadings  were,  however,  they 
failed  to  reach  Mr.  D.'s  heart,  for  in  a  moment  after  Mrs. 
H.  heard  the  lash  again  applied,  and  this  time  Mary 
screamed  still  louder  than  before.  Again  and  again  she 
could  hear  the  lash  descend  upon  poor  Mary's  back,  and 
again  and  again  came  from  her  lips  the  most  horrid 
screechings  and  the  most  piteous  moans.  Finally,  Mrs. 
H.  could  listen  no  longer,  but,  returning  to  her  sitting- 
room,  threw  herself  upon  a  lounge  and  wept  as  if  her 
very  heart  would  break.  Then  and  there  she  made  a 
most  solemn  vow  to  God  that  she  would  give  herself  no 
rest  until  she  had  rescued  Jane  and  her  mother  from  their 
heartless,  cruel  master,  nor  would  she  ever  try  again  to 
live  on  terms  of  friendship,  much  less  of  intimacy,  with 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  D. 

When  Mr.  H.  came  home  to  tea,  he  observed  that  his 
wife  had  been  weeping,  and  inquired  the  cause.  She 
then  told  him  all  that  she  had  seen  and  heard  during  the 


JUDGE    FREESE'S    "BAYONET    COURT."  IQI 

afternoon,  and  begged  of  him,  for  her  sake,  for  Mary 
and  Jane's  sake,  for  God's  sake,  to  go,  immediately  after 
tea,  to  Judge  Freese's  quarters  and  tell  him  all  that  had 
occurred.  She  was  sure,  she  said,  from  what  she  had 
heard  of  his  court,  that  he  would  not  permit  such  heart 
less  barbarities  to  continue  in  Alexandria.  The  husband 
was  deeply  impressed  with  his  wife's  story,  and  still  more 
so  by  the  pathetic  appeal  which  she  had  made  to  him  in 
behalf  of  the  two  servants,  and  promised  to  do  as  she 
requested,  notwithstanding  his  very  great  reluctance  to 
break  friendship  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D. 

Accordingly,  after  tea,  instead  of  going  back  to  his 
store  he  went  direct  to  Judge  Freese's  quarters  and  told 
him  the  whole  story,  just  as  his  wife  had  told  it  to  him. 
The  Judge  listened  attentively,  and,  when  Mr.  H.  had  fin 
ished,  said,  in  a  very  quiet  but  in  a  very  determined  way, 
that  the  case  should  have  his  careful  and  prompt  atten 
tion.  The  Judge  then  told  Mr.  H.  to  please  bring  his  wife 
around  to  headquarters  next  morning,  that  she  might 
make  a  formal  affidavit  to  what  she  had  seen  and  heard, 
after  receiving  which  he  would  direct  the  Provost-Mar 
shal  to  arrest  Mr.  H.,  and  bring  him  and  the  two  servants 
before  the  court  at  its  next  sitting.  Next  morning  early 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  went  to  the  general  headquarters.  The 
Judge  wrote  down,  as  Mrs.  H.  detailed  it,  the  story  as 
heretofore  told,  when  Mrs.  H.  added  her  signature  and 
made  affidavit  as  to  its  truthfulness.  The  Judge  then 
sent  for  the  Provost-Marshal,  and  ordered  him  to  arrest 
Mr.  D.  and  bring  him  and  the  two  servants,  Mary  and 
Jane,  before  the  court  at  ten  o'clock. 

The  arrest  of  so  prominent  a  citizen  as  Mr.  D.  spread 
through  the  city  like  wildfire,  and,  when  the  court  as 
sembled,  the  court-room  was  crowded  in  every  part. 
After  all  the  other  prisoners  present  had  been  discharged 
or  sentenced,  the  case  of  Mr.  H.  was  called.  He  arose, 


IQ2     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

when  his  name  was  called,  and  said  he  was  there  in  obe 
dience  to  the  orders  of  the  court,  but  for  what  cause  he 
knew  not,  except — if  he  had  understood  the  marshal 
aright — for  punishing  his  own  slaves,  which,  according 
to  the  laws  of  Virginia,  he  certainly  had  the  right  to  do. 
The  Judge  only  replied  that  he  (Mr.  D.)  would  probably 
understand  his  rights  better  after  the  case  had  been  tried, 
and  then  directed  that  the  trial  proceed.  Mr.  D.  asked 
if  he  could  be  represented  by  an  attorney. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  Judge,  "  if  the  attorney  will 
first  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States 
Government" 

This  the  attorney  present  declined  to  do,  and  Mr.  D. 
was  obliged  to  act  as  his  own  attorney.  The  first  witness 
called  was  Mary,  the  slave-mother.  She  testified,  in  re 
sponse  to  questions  by  the  court,  that  she  had  been  born 
the  slave  of  Mrs.  D.'s  father,  and  had  lived  in  his  family 
until  Mrs.  D.  was  married,  when  she  had  been  given  to 
Mrs.  D.  as  her  maid  or  body-servant ;  that  her  daughter 
Jane,  then  about  five  years  of  age,  had  been  given  to 
Mrs.  D.  at  the  same  time;  that  she,  Mary,  had  never 
been  married,  but  when  less  than  twenty  years  of  age 
had  repeatedly  been  ordered  to  the  bedchamber  of  Mrs. 
D.'s  father ;  that  Jane  was  none  other  than  the  daughter 
of  Mrs.  D.'s  own  father,  and  consequently  half-sister  to 
Mrs.  P.  herself;  that  she  had  frequently  asked  her  former 
master  and  her  present  mistress  for  the  privilege  to  learn 
to  read  and  write,  and,  when  she  had  learned  herself,  that 
she  might  teach  her  daughter  Jane,  but  they  had  always 
refused,  and  given  as  a  reason  that  the  laws  of  Virginia 
made  it  a  criminal  offence  to  teach  a  slave  to  read  or 
write ;  that  both  she  and  her  daughter  had  been  gener 
ally  well  treated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  until  the  Union 
troops  came  to  Alexandria;  that  since  that  time  both 
seemed  to  have  entirely  changed  in  their  disposition 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."        193 

towards  her  and  her  daughter;  that  nothing  they  could 
do  seemed  to  please  them ;  that  both  she  and  her  daughter 
had  been  forbidden  to  go  upon  the  street  at  any  time  or 
upon  any  occasion,  and  that  finally  they  had  been  for 
bidden  to  look  out  of  the  windows ;  that  they  had  tried 
to  obey  even  this  order,  but,  on  hearing  music  and  the 
tramp  of  passing  soldiers,  they  had  sometimes  been  drawn 
to  the  windows  unthinkingly;  for  this  one  offence  and 
for  no  other — for  Mrs.  D.  always  reported  them  to  her 
husband,  and  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  doing  so  when 
ever  she  chanced  to  catch  them  at  a  window — Mr.  D.  had 
whipped  both  her  and  her  daughter  several  times  most 
terribly ;  that  he  always  took  them  to  the  garret,  tied  a 
cord  around  each  wrist,  threw  the  cord  over  a  beam  and 
drew  them  up  until  their  toes  just  touched  the  floor, 
stripped  them  to  the  waist,  and  then  with  a  rawhide  gave 
them  as  many  lashes  as  he  thought  they  could  stand 
without  fainting ;  that  her  own  back,  and  her  daughter's 
as  well,  were  so  raw  and  sore  that  they  could  hardly  wear 
their  dresses ;  that  Mrs.  D.  always  encouraged  these 
whippings,  and  that  neither  she  nor  her  husband  ever 
manifested  the  least  sympathy  with  their  subsequent  suf 
ferings;  that  neither  she  nor  her  daughter  had  ever  made 
an  attempt  to  escape  from  bondage,  nor  had  either  of  them 
ever  threatened  their  master  or  mistress  so  to  do,  not 
withstanding  all  they  had  suffered.  She  wept  frequently 
while  giving  in  her  testimony,  and  at  times  almost  the 
entire  audience  seemed  melted  to  tears.  The  Judge  was 
observed  to  wipe  his  eyes  frequently,  and  several  times 
his  voice  was  so  choked  with  emotion  that  he  had  to 
hesitate  some  moments  before  he  could  put  the  next 
question.  The  whole  of  Mary's  evidence  had  to  be  drawn 
from  her  lips,  item  by  item.  She  seemed  all  the  while 
afraid  to  answer  questions,  and  said  nothing  of  her  own 
accord. 

17  N 


194     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Jane  was  next  called.  Her  evidence  entirely  accorded 
with  her  mother's,  so  far  as  her  knowledge  extended. 
Mrs.  D.,  she  said,  had  never  found  any  fault  about  her 
work — only  about  her  looking  out  of  the  windows,  and 
this  she  had  not  meant  to  do,  but  did  it  every  time  with 
out  thinking.  When  she  heard  the  music  of  a  band,  or 
the  tramp  of  soldiers,  some  irresistible  force  always  drew 
her  to  the  nearest  window  to  look  out.  She  could  not 
help  it,  though  her  life  depended  upon  it.  Both  she  and 
her  mother  were  passionately  fond  of  music,  and  when 
their  mistress  played  on  the  piano  in  the  parlor,  they 
generally  managed  to  leave  their  work  long  enough  to 
stand  and  listen,  by  a  door  ajar,  until  the  music  ended. 
She  did  not  understand  why  she  and  her  mother  should 
be  so  infatuated — crazy  as  she  called  it — about  music. 
She  only  knew  that  it  was  so,  and  that  neither  of  them 
could  help  it. 

Mrs.  H.  was  the  next  witness.  She  detailed,  carefully 
and  succinctly,  what  she  had  heard  and  seen  the  afternoon 
before.  Told  of  her  long  and  agreeable  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.,  and  how  much  she  regretted  the 
rupture  of  those  friendly  relations.  Said  she  had  fre 
quently  heard  Mrs.  D.  speak  in  the  highest  terms  of  her 
two  servants,  Mary  and  Jane ;  that  several  times  before 
that  afternoon  she  had  heard  strange,  unusual  noises  next 
door,  but  never  until  then  had  she  heard  them  plain 
enough  to  know  what  they  meant.  On  leaving  the  wit 
ness-stand  and  resuming  her  seat,  she  burst  into  a  flood 
of  tears,  and  it  was  several  minutes  before  she  could  re 
gain  her  self-possession. 

The  Judge  then  asked  Mr.  D.  to  call  any  witnesses 
he  had  present,  or  to  present  himself  or  his  wife  as  a 
witness,  if  he  thought  proper. 

Mr.  D.  replied  that  he  had  no  witnesses  in  the  case, 
neither  did  he  propose  to  offer  himself  nor  his  wife  as  a 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."    195 

witness ;  that  he  substantially  admitted  all  that  had  been 
said  by  the  witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  except  as  to  the 
severity  of  the  punishment  inflicted.  In  that,  he  thought, 
the  witnesses  had  all  exaggerated.  In  the  excitement  at 
tendant  upon  the  punishment  of  a  servant,  however,  one 
might  strike  harder  blows,  and  more  of  them,  than  he 
intended  or  knew  of  at  the  moment ;  but  he  certainly 
never  had  intended  to  punish  either  Mary  or  Jane  to  the 
extent  they  had  described.  His  defence,  he  said,  was  that 
he  had  done  nothing  more  than  the  laws  of  Virginia  au 
thorized.  That,  within  maiming  and  death,  the  law  gave 
to  a  master  the  authority  to  punish  a  slave  to  any  extent 
he  pleased.  That  ever  since  Federal  troops  had  been 
in  the  city  he  had  suspected  Mary  and  Jane  to  be  plan 
ning  means  of  escape,  and  that  it  was  to  make  them 
realize  his  right  to  them  as  their  owner  and  master,  and 
to  keep  them  in  wholesome  dread  of  his  authority,  that  he 
had  forbidden  them  to  go  upon  the  streets,  to  look  out  at 
the  windows,  and  had  occasionally  punished  them  in,  as 
he  thought,  a  very  mild  way.  Besides,  he  thought  a 
military  court  had  no  right  whatever  to  interfere  with  the 
relations  between  master  and  slave,  and  hoped  the  court 
would  think  proper  to  dismiss  the  case.  He  spoke  in  a 
very  pompous  manner,  and  took  his  seat  as  one  who  had 
entirely  demolished  his  adversaries. 

For  a  few  moments  there  was  an  almost  death-like  si 
lence  in  the  court-room.  No  one  spoke.  You  could 
almost  have  heard  a  pin  drop  on  the  floor.  The  Judge 
then  ordered  Mr.  D.  to  stand  up  to  receive  the  sentence 
of  the  court.  Mr.  D.  stood  up.  The  Judge  then  pro 
ceeded  to  say,  "Sir:  You  are  charged  with  assault  and 
battery  upon  these  two  defenceless  females,  Mary  and 
Jane.  The  evidence  is  clear  that  you  committed  such 
assault,  not  once  only  but  several  times.  Indeed,  you 
yourself  admit  it.  Your  defence  is  that  they  are  your 


196     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

slaves,  and  that,  according  to  the  slave  code  of  Virginia, 
you  had  the  right  to  punish  them  to  any  extent  you 
pleased  within  that  of  maiming  or  the  taking  of  life.  I 
am  not  familiar  with  the  slave  code  of  Virginia,  and  can 
not  say  of  a  certainty  that  you  represent  it  wrongfully, 
but  I  can  say  that  if  such  authority  exists  upon  any  statute- 
book  of  any  State,  it  is  a  disgrace  to  civilization,  and  the 
sooner  it  be  expunged  the  better.  But,  sir,  it  matters  not 
to  this  court  what  the  laws  of  Virginia  may  be  upon  this 
or  upon  any  other  subject.  This  is  a  United  States  mili 
tary  court — a  court  of  necessity,  and  '  necessity  knows 
no  law '  is  an  old  maxim — a  court  established  because  all 
other  means  of  justice  had  fled  from  this  city — a  court 
governed  by  the  principles  of  equity,  rather  than  of  law — 
a  court  established  to  protect  the  lives,  the  natural  rights, 
and  the  property  of  every  inhabitant  of  Alexandria,  without 
regard  to  their  political  opinions,  their  religious  predilec 
tions,  their  sex,  their  condition  in  life,  or  their  color — a 
court  which  does  not,  and  cannot,  recognize  slavery  in 
any  shape  or  form — a  court  which  now  and  ever  will 
protect  the  lives,  the  personal  rights,  and  the  property 
of  those  called  slaves  as  readily  as  of  those  called  masters. 
While  this  court  possesses  no  power  to  dissolve  the  rela 
tion  which  the  laws  of  a  State  have  made  possible  between 
master  and  slave — that  power  belonging  alone  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  in  his  capacity  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy — yet  it  does  possess 
the  power,  and  it  is  its  imperative  duty,  to  protect  the 
weak  against  the  strong,  the  slave  against  undue  severity 
from  his  or  her  master  or  mistress,  and  particularly  from 
inflicting  punishment  without  adequate  cause.  The  evi 
dence  in  this  case,  sir,  shows  that  you  had  no  cause,  no 
reasonable  cause,  for  inflicting  any  punishment  whatever 
on  either  of  these  females  ;  that  they  were  both  uniformly 
good  servants,  that  your  wife  invariably  spoke  of  them  as 


JUDGE  FREESE'S  "BAYONET  COURT."        197 

such  until  the  Union  troops  came  into  this  city,  and  that 
then,  and  not  till  then,  you  conceived  the  idea  that  they 
would  escape  from  your  service  if  they  could,  and  to 
counteract  such  a  thought  in  their  minds  you  gave  them 
commands  contrary  to  all  the  laws  of  nature ;  and  because 
they  did  not,  for  the  reason  that  they  could  not,  obey 
these  unnatural  commands,  you  inflicted  upon  them  both 
a  degree  of  punishment  such  as  a  man  would  be  indicta 
ble  for  if  inflicted  upon  a  horse.  This  you  try  to  excuse 
by  saying  that,  while  in  a  passion,  you  may  have  struck 
them  harder  and  oftener  than  you  intended;  the  answer 
to  which  is  that  a  man  subject  to  such  violent  passions, 
and  devoid  of  mercy,  as  you,  sir,  appear  to  be,  is  utterly 
unfit  to  have  in  his  power  those  who  are  unable  to  defend 
themselves  against  brute  violence.  Those  whom  you 
abuse,  therefore,  must  be  taken  from  your  control;  must 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who  will  treat  them  kindly, 
treat  them  as  human  beings ;  and  though  this  temporary 
taking  away  may  not  destroy  your  legal  right  to  their 
services  at  some  future  time,  it  will,  at  least,  protect  them 
from  your  violence  for  the  present,  and  it  may  be  that,  before 
this  sentence  shall  have  expired,  a  merciful  Providence 
may  induce  the  President  to  issue  a  proclamation  of  uni 
versal  freedom  to  all  the  slaves  of  this  land.  Meanwhile, 
this  court  will  use  all  the  power  it  possesses  to  protect 
them  from  undue  violence  from  those  who  call  themselves 
their  owners ;  and  the  court  desires  to  give  fair  warning 
now,  so  that  all  may  be  without  excuse  hereafter,  that 
from  henceforth  this  court  will  regard  an  assault  made 
upon  a  so-called  slave  in  precisely  the  same  light  as  if 
made  upon  a  free  white  person.  For  every  stroke  laid 
upon  a  slave  hereafter,  without  justifiable  cause,  the  master 
will  receive  a  like  number,  or  other  punishment  equal 
thereto,  by  the  sentence  of  this  court ;  and  the  only  reason 
why  you,  sir,  are  excused  from  corporal  punishment  now, 
17* 


198     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

is,  that  you  acted  ignorantly — acted,  as  you  supposed, 
under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  and  without  knowing  the  law 
or  orders  of  this  court  upon  this  subject.  Hereafter  no 
one  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court  can  have  any 
such  excuse. 

"  The  sentence  of  the  court  is,  that  you,  Mr.  D.,  im 
mediately  after  the  adjournment  of  this  court,  go  with 
the  Provost- Marshal  to  his  office,  and  there,  over  your  own 
hand  and  seal,  with  the  Provost-Marshal  as  a  witness, 
execute  a  permit  to  Mary  and  to  Jane,  each,  to  leave  your 
employ  at  once,  and  take  with  them  whatever  of  clothing 
or  other  articles  heretofore  recognized  as  theirs — to  en 
gage  their  services  as  domestics  to  whomsoever  else  they 
please,  to  receive  in  their  own  right  and  to  use  as  they 
please,  whatever  wages  may  be  agreed  upon  between 
them  and  their  future  employers — to  go  and  come  when 
and  wheresoever  they  please,  and  in  no  respect  whatsoever 
to  be  subject  to  your  direction  or  control.  And  the  fur 
ther  judgment  of  the  court  is,  that  this  sentence  shall 
remain  in  full  force  and  virtue  so  long  as  the  war  between 
the  North  and  the  South  continues. 

"  To  you,  Mr.  Provost-Marshal,  the  court  begs  to  say 
that  you  will  not  permit  Mr.  D.  to  leave  your  custody 
until  he  has  fully  executed  this  order;  and  should  he 
refuse,  or  even  hesitate,  you  will  at  once  lock  him  up 
in  the  county  jail,  and  report  to  this  court  for  further 
orders. 

"  To  you,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.,  the  court  begs  to  return  not 
only  its  thanks,  but  the  thanks  of  every  peace-loving, 
mercy-loving,  freedom-loving  citizen  of  this  community, 
for  having  brought  this  case  before  the  court,  and  thereby 
put  a  check,  if  not  an  entire  stop,  to  an  evil  which  other 
wise  might  have  grown  to  huge  proportions ;  and,  as 
a  further  manifestation  of  your  good  hearts,  the  court 
requests  that  you  will  take  Mary  and  her  daughter  in 


JUDGE  FREESE  S    BAYONET  COURT.      199 

your  own  employ,  until  such  time  as  a  better  arrangement 
can  be  effected,  if  that  be  ever  possible. 

"  The  court  stands  adjourned  until   to-morrow*  at  ten 
o'clock." 

While  the  Judge  was  delivering  this  sentence,  perfect 
silence  prevailed ;  but  the  moment  he  closed,  a  buzz  of 
approval  ran  throughout  the  court-room,  amounting  al 
most  to  cheers.     Mr.  D.  and  his  attorney,  and  the  few 
friends  immediately  about  him,  looked  like  so  many  dark 
thunder-clouds  in  a  clear  sky;  but  the  contrast  only  made 
the  sky  to  appear  the  brighter.     The  crowd  dispersed. 
The   sentinels   present,   at   a   shoulder-arms,   with    fixed 
bayonets,  at  once  formed  a  front  and  rear  guard  to  the 
Provost-Marshal  and  his  prisoner,  and,  when  on  the  street, 
a  hollow-square,  until  they  reached  the  Provost- Marshal's 
office.     A  permit,  such  as   the  court  had  directed,  was 
then  prepared,  to  which  Mr.  D.  put  his  hand  and  seal, 
with  the   Provost-Marshal   as   a  witness.     The   Provost- 
Marshal  then  went  with  Mary  and  her  daughter  (Mr.  D. 
still  accompanying  and  not  yet  discharged)  to  Mr.  D.'s 
house,  where  the  two  servants  were  permitted  to  gather 
together  their  clothing  and  whatever  else  they  claimed  as 
theirs.     Mrs.  D.  was  at  first  disposed  to  refuse  the  ser 
vants  their  clothing,  or  anything  else,  and  to  talk  loudly 
against  the  injustice  of  the  court,  etc. ;  but  a  word  of 
caution  from  the  Provost-Marshal,  and  a  beseeching  look 
from    her  husband,  effectually   closed    her  lips.     When 
Mary  and  Jane  had  got  all  together,  in  such  bundle  as 
they  could  easily  carry,  the  Marshal  accompanied  them 
to  the  residence  of  Mrs.  H.  and  there  left  them. 

Mrs.  H.  met  them  in  the  entry-way,  and  the  moment 
they  saw  her,  both  servants  fell  on  their  knees  and  begged 
to  kiss  her  hand,  or  even  the  hem  of  her  garment.  They 
wept  and  laughed  alternately,  and  it  was  some  time  be 
fore  she  could  get  them  to  arise  from  their  knees  and  go 


20O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

to  the  room  which  had  been  prepared  for  them.  The 
transition  from  slavery  to  virtual  freedom,  from  constant 
dread  to*free  volition,  to  what  had  seemed  to  them  a  hell 
to  what  now  seemed  to  them  a  heaven,  had  been  so  sud 
den,  that  they  could  scarcely  realize  it  as  possible ;  and, 
when  they  reached  the  room  assigned  them,  both  again 
fell  on  their  knees,  and  for  a  full  hour  returned  thanks  to 
God  for  his  mercy  and  loving-kindness,  and  implored 
blessings  on  those  who  had  shown  them  such  unexpected 
kindness.  Both  Mary  and  her  daughter  were  members 
of  the  Methodist  Church — the  former  had  -been  so  for 
many  years — and  both  had  always  led,  so  far  as  was 
known,  consistent  Christian  lives. 

The  result  of  the  trial  was  soon  in  the  mouths  of  every 
body,  some  condemning,  but  a  large  majority  approving. 
The  effect  was,  that  not  a  single  similar  case  was  brought 
before  the  court  after  that.  The  warning  of  the  court  was 
so  plain  and  pointed  that  all  who  owned  slaves  in  Alex 
andria  felt  that  they  knew,  as  well  before  as  after,  what 
punishment  would  follow  ill-treatment,  and  none  were 
ill-treated. 

Had  like  courts  followed  the  army,  or  been  established 
in  every  city  of  the  South  on  the  day  they  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Union  troops,  what  immense  suffering  might 
have  been  saved;  how  many  rescued  from  premature 
graves,  caused  by  inhuman  treatment ;  and  how  many 
thousands  could  have  been  given  the  blessed  boon  of 
freedom,  who  were  run  into  Texas,  thence  to  Cuba  and 
Brazil,  and  thence  consigned  to  a  fate  worse  than  death 
itself! 


202 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

LOYALTY  VERSUS  DISLOYALTY. 
PREJUDICE   AND   SELF-INTEREST   PROMPTING  THE  ACTORS. 


definition  given  by  lexicographers  to  the  word 
1  loyalty,  namely,  "  faithful  to  the  lawful  government," 
is  so  plain  that  no  one  can  fail  to  comprehend  it;  and  yet 
such  were  the  complications  in  the  late  war  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Confederate  States,  that  to  no  word 
could  a  greater  variety  of  significations  have  been  given. 
The  Northern  man  claimed  that  to  be  loyal  one  must  be 
faithful  to  the  United  States  government,  and  all  who  were 
not  so  were  rebels.  The  Southern  man  claimed  that,  after 
the  organization  of  the  Confederate  States  government, 
no  man  south  of"  Mason  and  Dixon's  line"  could  be  re 
garded  as  loyal  who  was  not  in  favor  of,  and  faithful  to, 
that  government.  The  extreme  State-rights  man  claimed 
that  to  be  loyal  one  must  be  faithful  to  the  government 
of  the  State  in  which  he  resided,  or  of  which  he  was  a 
native.  Each  claimed  theirs,  and  theirs  only,  to  be  the 
"  lawful  "  government,  and  insisted  that  to  be  loyal  one 
must  be  faithful  to  it,  and  to  it  alone,  and  that  any  lack 
of  fidelity  thereto  was  disloyalty,  and  could  be  nothing 
else. 

To  illustrate  by  a  figure  once  before  used  in  this  vol 
ume  —  that  of  a  divorce  suit  between  man  and  wife  —  it  is 
easy  enough  to  see  how  the  children,  taking  the  side  of 
the  father,  might  charge  those  who  took  the  side  of  the 
mother  with  disloyalty  to  the  family,  and  how  those  tak 
ing  the  side  of  the  mother  might  retort  by  saying  that 

203 


2O4     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  mother  was  quite  as  much  a  part  of  the  family  as  the 
father,  and  that  those  who  opposed  her  were  more  dis 
loyal  to  the  family  than  themselves.  Thus  criminations 
and  recriminations  might  pass  between  the  children  of  a 
divided  household — divided  in  sentiment,  if  not  yet  by 
law — and  if  a  third  party  were  called  in  as  arbitrator,  it 
would  be  no  easy  matter  for  him  to  decide  which  of  the 
two  was  right  and  which  wrong.  Viewing  the  subject 
from  this  stand-point,  now  that  the  prejudices  and  excite 
ments  of  the  war  are  over,  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 
how  President  Davis,  General  Lee,  General  Beauregard, 
General  Polk,  and  their  adherents,  regarded  themselves 
quite  as  loyal  as  President  Lincoln,  General  Grant,  Gen 
eral  Sherman,  General  Sheridan,  and  their  followers. 
Each  regarded  theirs  as  the  "  laivful  government,"  and 
that  only  by  adhering  to  it,  by  being  faithful  to  it,  could 
one  justly  claim  to  be  loyal. 

But  there  was  a  third  class  in  the  war,  who,  while  claim 
ing  to  be  faithful  to  one  government,  were,  At  heart,  in 
favor  of  the  other ;  who  only  wore  the  "  garb  of  heaven  " 
that  they  might  the  better  "  serve  the  devil ;  "  who  were 
ever  ready  to  make  promises  to  both  sides,  but  who  were 
true  to  neither ;  men  who,  like  Marlborough,  while  pre 
tending  to  be  faithful  to  William  III.,  was  really  plot 
ting  to  restore  James  II.  So  well  laid  were  Marlbor- 
ough's  plans,  that  Macaulay  says,  "  Had  Marlborough, 
therefore,  after  securing  the  cooperation  of  some  distin 
guished  officers,  presented  himself  at  the  critical  moment 
to  those  regiments  which  he  had  led  to  victory  in  Flan 
ders  and  in  Ireland,  had  he  called  on  them  to  rally  around 
him,  to  protect  the  Parliament,  and  to  drive  out  the  aliens 
(William's  friends),  there  is  strong  reason  to  think  that 
the  call  would  have  been  obeyed." 

Writing  of  the  disloyalty  and  treachery  of  many  who 
surrounded  the  throne  of  William  and  Mary  at  that  time 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY. 

(1691),  Macaulay  says :  "Wicked  and  base  as  their  con 
duct  was,  there  was  nothing  in  it  surprising.  They  did 
after  their  kind.  The  times  were  troubled.  A  thick  cloud 
was  upon  the  future.  The  most  sagacious  and  experi 
enced  politician  could  not  see  with  any  clearness  three 
months  before  him.  To  a  man  of  virtue  and  honor,  in 
deed,  this  mattered  little.  His  uncertainty  as  to  what  the 
morrow  would  bring  forth,  might  make  him  anxious,  but 
could  not  make  him  perfidious.  Though  left  in  utter 
darkness  as  to  what  concerned  his  interests,  he  had  the 
sure  guidance  of  his  principles.  But,  unhappily,  men  of 
virtue  and  honor  were  not  numerous  among  the  courtiers 
of  that  age.  Whitehall  had  been,  during  thirty  years,  a 
seminary  of  every  public  and  private  vice,  and  swarmed 
with  low-minded,  double-dealing,  self-seeking  politicians. 
The  politicians  now  acted  as  it  was  natural  that  men  pro 
foundly  immoral  should  act  at  a  crisis  of  which  none 
could  predict  the  issue.  Some  of  them  might  have  a 
slight  predilection  for  William ;  others  a  slight  predilec 
tion  for  James ;  but  it  was  not  by  any  such  predilection 
that  the  conduct  of  any  of  the  breed  was  guided.  If  it 
had  seemed  certain  that  William  would  stand,  they  would 
all  have  been  for  William.  If  it  had  seemed  certain  that 
James  would  be  restored,  they  would  all  have  been  for 
James.  But  what  was  to  be  done  when  the  chances  ap 
peared  to  be  almost  exactly  balanced  ?  There  were  hon 
est  men  of  one  party  who  would  have  answered, '  To  stand 
by  the  true  king  and  the  true  church,  and,  if  necessary, 
die  for  them  like  Laud.'  There  were  honest  men  of  the 
other  party  who  would  have  answered,  '  To  stand  by  the 
liberties  of  England  and  the  Protestant  religion,  and,  if 
necessary,  die  for  them  like  Sidney.'  But  such  consistency 
was  unintelligible  to  many  of  the  noble  and  the  powerful. 
Their  object  was  to  be  safe  in  every  event.  They  there 
fore  openly  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  one  king,  and 
18 


2O6     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

secretly  plighted  their  word  to  the  other.  They  were  in 
defatigable  in  obtaining  commissions,  patents  of  peerage, 
pensions,  grants  of  crown  land,  under  the  great  seal  of 
William,  and  they  had  in  their  secret  drawers  promises 
of  pardon  in  the  handwriting  of  James." 

Now  let  the  reader  turn  back  and  read  this  extract  and 
the  one  preceding  it  about  Marlborough,  both  from  Ma- 
caulay's  History  of  England,  over  again,  carefully  and 
considerately — putting  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
the  place  of  William,  wherever  it  occurs ;  and  the  name 
of  Jefferson  Davis  in  place  of  James,  wherever  it  occurs, 
and  whatever  name  he  pleases  in  place  of  Marlborough's, 
and  he  will,  we  think,  be  entirely  competent  to  draw  his 
own  similitudes,  and  to  understand  the  causes  of  many 
things  heretofore  related  in  this  volume,  and  of  some 
which  we  purpose  to  relate  in  this  chapter. 

Another  class  of  cases  occasionally  brought  before  the 
Provost-Court,  at  Alexandria,  related  to  loyalty.  To  re 
late  the  details  of  one  or  two  of  these  cases  will  give  to 
the  reader  a  general  conception  of  the  whole. 

Mr.  E.'s  usual  residence  was  in  Sussex  County,  New 
Jersey,  but  in  some  way,  and  at  some  time,  he  became 
the  owner  of  a  farm  not  many  miles  from  Alexandria, 
Virginia.  In  throwing  up  earth-works  at  Munson's  Hill 
and  at  other  points,  with  a  view  to  protect  Washington 
and  Alexandria,  it  so  happened  that  Mr.  E.'s  farm  was 
left  about  one  mile  outside  of  the  Union  lines.  And  it  so 
happened,  too,  that  the  Confederates,  in  establishing  their 
picket-line  and  temporary  works  of  defence,  made  them 
about  one  mile  the  other  side  of  Mr.  E.'s  farm.  This  left 
him  literally  "between  two  fires,"  for  the  mounted  can 
non  on  either  side  could  throw  a  ball  into  his  house  at 
any  moment,  and  squads  of  cavalry  from  both  sides  oc 
casionally  visited  his  house.  Had  he  continued  to  look 
after  his  farming  operations,  and  those  only,  he  would 


LOYALTY    VERSUS     DISLOYALTY.  2O/ 

probably  not  have  been  seriously  disturbed  by  either  side; 
but  the  love  of  the  almighty  dollar  so  far  prevailed  over 
his  better  judgment  and  his  loyalty,  that  he  concluded  to 
try  merchandising,  in  a  surreptitious  way,  at  his  own 
farm-house.  For  years  previous  he  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  purchasing  the  supplies  for  his  farm  in  Alexandria, 
which,  with  the  fact  that  he  was  a  Northern  man  and  was 
presumed  to  be,  as  he  professed  to  be,  entirely  loyal  to 
the  United  States  government,  made  it  no  trouble  for  him 
to  procure  passes  in  and  out  of  the  Union  lines,  whenever 
he  had  occasion  to  use  them.  After  awhile  it  was  ob 
served  that  he  passed  in  and  out  of  the  lines  much  oftener 
than  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  when  the  line  was 
first  established,  and  that  he  usually  drove  a  two-horse 
wagon,  with  a  cloth  cover  over  it,  and  apparently  well  filled 
within.  It  was  observed,  too,  by  officers,  with  their  field- 
glasses,  from  the  works  at  Munson's  Hill,  that  Confeder 
ate  cavalry  visited  Mr.  E.'s  house  much  oftener  than  they 
had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  during  the  first  months 
of  the  war,  and  how  many,  both  of  cavalry  and  infantry, 
visited  his  place  at  night,  of  course  they  had  no  means 
of  knowing.  When  Union  cavalry  or  infantry  visited  his 
house,  they  never  saw  anything  more  than  was  usual 
about  farm-houses,  and  he  always  welcomed  them  with 
the  utmost  cordiality.  He  regretted,  he  said,  that  Con 
federate  soldiers  visited  his  house  so  often.  They  seemed, 
he  said,  to  suspicion  that  he  was  too  intensely  Union,  but 
he  quieted  them  by  saying  that  while,  of  course,  he  was 
a  Union  man,  and  could  be  nothing  else,  yet  he  meant  to 
be  entirely  neutral  so  long  as  the  war  continued,  and, 
while  he  could  do  nothing  for  them,  he  would  do  nothing 
against  them.  The  peculiarity  of  his  situation,  between 
the  two  lines,  made  this  answer  seem  entirely  reasonable 
to  the  Unionists  who  visited  him,  or  who  questioned  him 


2O8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

at  any  time,  and  passes  continued  to  be  issued  to  him 
whenever  he  applied  for  them. 

Thus  matters  went  on  for  weeks  and  months,  until  one 
day,  when  he  was  about  passing  a  sentinel's  post,  the  sen 
tinel  had  the  curiosity,  not  only  to  inquire,  but  to  make 
a  careful  examination,  of  what  he  had  in  his  wagon.  He 
found  barrels  of  sugar,  bags  of  coffee,  chests  of  tea,  sacks 
of  salt,  barrels  of  whiskey,  and  such  other  articles  as  are 
usually  kept  and  sold  at  country  stores.  The  sentinel 
asked  Mr.  E.  if  he  did  not  keep  a  store?  Oh,  no,  he 
said,  he  bought  these  things  all  for  his  own  use  and  for 
the  use  of  his  servants  on  the  farm,  of  whom  he  had  a 
large  number.  He  never  sold  an  ounce  of  anything  to 
anybody,  and  kept  his  supplies  so  concealed  that  when 
rebels  came  to  his  house,  as  they  did  sometimes,  they 
never  could  see  anything*  On  no  consideration  would 
he  sell  or  give  anything  to  the  rebels,  and  the  Union  sol 
diers,  of  course,  never  had  occasion  to  buy  anything  out 
side  of  their  lines. 

His  manner,  as  well  as  his  words,  still  further  excited 
the  suspicion  of  the  sentinel,  and  so  soon  as  he  was  re 
lieved  he  went  to  his  captain  and  told  him  all  that  had 
occurred.  The  captain  reported  the  facts  to  his  colonel, 
and  received  orders  from  him  to  instruct  the  sentinel  on 
that  post  that  when  Mr.  E.  next  attempted  to  pass  out  of 
the  lines  with  a  load  of  groceries  to  halt  him,  and  bring 
him  and  his  wagon  to  the  regimental  headquarters.  Only 
a  few  days  elapsed,  when  Mr.  E.  again  attempted  to  pass 
out  with  a  heavier  load  than  at  any  time  previous.  When 
he  showed  his  pass,  as  usual,  the  sentinel  replied  that  his 
orders  were  to  halt  him  until  he  could  call  the  corporal 
of  the  guard.  Mr.  E.  protested  against  the  unnecessary 
detention,  but,  as  the  sentinel  would  not  yield,  he  could 
do  nothing  else  than  wait  until  the  corporal  came.  The 
corporal  informed  him  that  he  must  turn  his  team  about 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY.  2OO, 

and  accompany  him  to  the  regimental  headquarters.  Mr. 
E.  was  now  more  alarmed  than  ever,  and  tried  first  to 
cajole  and  then  to  bribe  the  corporal  and  the  sentinel  to 
let  him  pass,  but  they  would  not  listen  to  his  overtures. 
Finding  no  other  way,  he  turned  his  team  about  and  ac 
companied  the  corporal  to  the  regimental  headquarters. 
The  colonel  examined  Mr.  E.'s  load  and  found  that  it 
consisted  principally  of  groceries.  In  reply  to  the  ques 
tion,  What  he  did  with  them  ?  he  answered  the  colonel,  as 
he  had  before  answered  the  sentinel,  that  he  used  them 
for  himself  and  the  servants  on  his  farm ;  that  he  did  not 
sell  an  ounce  to  the  rebels;  would  not,  under  any  cir 
cumstances,  etc.,  etc.  The  colonel  listened  respectfully 
to  all  that  Mr.  E.  said,  but  did  not  believe  a  word  of  it. 
When  he  had  finished,  the  colonel  replied,  very  calmly 
but  very  determinately,  that  as  Mr.  E.  was  a  private  citi 
zen,  and  could  not,  therefore,  be  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
he  must  accompany  him  next  morning  to  Alexandria, 
that  all  the  facts  of  the  case  might  be  laid  before  the 
Provost-Judge  of  that  city  for  such  action  as  he  might 
think  proper.  Meanwhile,  his  team  and  his  goods  would 
be  well  taken  care  of,  and  he  should  regard  himself  as  in 
arrest.  Mr.  E.  protested,  but  soon  became  satisfied  that 
he  was  in  the  hands  of  one  who  could  not  be  cajoled  or 
trifled  with,  and  that  submission  was  his  only  course. 

Next  morning  the  colonel,  accompanied  by  Mr.  E.,  the 
corporal,  and  the  two  sentinels — the  one  who  had  ex 
amined  Mr.  E.'s  load  the  first  time  and  the  one  who  had 
detained  him  last — went  to  Alexandria,  reaching  there 
about  nine  o'clock.  They  went  direct  to  the  general 
headquarters,  and  the  colonel  at  once  communicated  all 
the  facts  to  Judge  Freese.  He  replied  that  the  provost- 
court  met  at  ten  o'clock,  and  that  so  soon  as  all  other 
cases  had  been  adjudicated  this  case  should  be  heard, 
18*  O 


2IO     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  that  the  colonel,  his  prisoner,  and  his  witnesses 
should  be  in  attendance. 

Promptly  at  ten  o'clock  the  court  opened.  A  dozen  or 
more  cases  were  heard  and  adjudicated,  after  which  the 
case  of  Mr.  E.  was  called.  The  first  witness — the  first 
sentinel — gave  in  his  testimony  just  as  detailed  hereto 
fore.  The  second  sentinel  and  the  corporal  did  the  same. 
The  colonel  then  related  all  that  he  knew  about  the  case, 
and  in  the  course  of  his  testimony,  said  that  he  had 
known  of  Mr.  E.  ever  since  encamped  where  he  then 
was;  that  he  had  frequently  heard  other  officers  speak 
of  him ;  that  he,  with  others,  had  often  watched  Mr. 
E.'s  house  through  their  field-glasses,  and  frequently  seen 
rebel  officers  and  privates  coming  and  going ;  that  for  a 
week  previous  Mr.  E.  had  gone  backwards  and  forwards 
through  the  lines  every  day  or  two,  usually  in  a  two- 
horse  covered  wagon,  and  dressed  as  a  hard-working 
farmer ;  that  he  always  had  with  him  a  permit  from  the 
general  commanding  to  pass  in  and  out,  and  that  his  sen 
tinels  had  never  thought  to  question  his  right  so  to  do 
until  after  the  one  sentinel  took  the  liberty  of  looking 
in  Mr.  E.'s  wagon,  and  found  it  filled  with  boxes  and 
barrels ;  that  since  then  he  had  talked  the  matter  over 
with  the  general  and  several  other  officers,  and  all  agreed 
in  the  opinion  that  Mr.  E.  was  selling  these  supplies  to 
the  enemy ;  that,  thereupon,  he  had  directed  the  sentinel 
upon  that  post  to  be  instructed  to  arrest  him  and  bring 
him  to  his  headquarters  should  he  again  attempt  to  pass 
with  a  loaded  wagon  ;  that  his  wagon,  when  so  arrested, 
was  loaded,  as  heavily  as  two  horses  could  well  draw,  with 
groceries,  liquors,  etc.,  and  that  the  team,  wagon,  grocer 
ies,  and  liquors  were  now  in  his  camp  subject  to  any 
order  the  court  might  make. 

Mr.  E.  was  then  called  upon  by  the  court  to  present 
any  witnesses  he  might  have,  or  to  offer  himself  as  a 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY.  211 

witness,  or  to  say  anything  he  could  in  his  own  defence, 
or  all  together,  if  he  chose. 

Mr.  E.  replied  that  he  had  no  witnesses  to  offer,  but, 
if  the  court  please,  would  like  to  make  a  statement.  He 
then  repeated  about  the  same  story  he  had  told  the  sentinel 
and  the  colonel,  and  added,  that  in  Sussex  County,  New 
Jersey,  where  he  was  well  known,  nobody  doubted  his 
loyalty ;  that  his  father  had,  at  one  time,  been  a  member 
of  Congress  from  that  State,  and  that  he  himself  would 
probably  have  raised  a  company  or  a  regiment  of  volun 
teers  when  the  war  commenced  had  he  not  owned  this 
plantation  in  Virginia  and  had  it  to  look  after.  He 
insisted  upon  his  loyalty,  and  strongly  urged  his  imme 
diate  release  from  arrest. 

The  court  replied  that  cases  of  this  kind  were  exceed 
ingly  perplexing  at  all  times,  and  he,  the  Judge,  would 
only  be  too  glad  if  there  were  some  other  tribunal  to 
which  they  could  be  referred ;  but  as  there  was  not, 
he  could  not  do  less  than  hear  them,  and  after  hearing,  if 
he  found  cause  for  action,  he  could  not  do  less  than  act. 
"  In  this  case  it  was  perfectly  plain  to  the  court  that,  not 
withstanding  Mr.  E.'s  denial,  he  had  been  selling  grocer 
ies,  liquors,  etc.,  to  officers  and  privates  of  General  Lee's 
army,  and  might,  therefore,  fairly  be  presumed  to  have 
given  '  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy.'  But  the  court 
did  not  believe  that  it  had  been  done  with  any  such  intent. 
On  the  contrary,  the  court  believed  that  it  was  the  love 
of  money — which  is  said  to  be  the  '  root  of  all  evil ' — 
that  had  induced  the  defendant  to  do  just  what  he  had 
done.  Mr.  E.  is  one  of  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thou 
sands  throughout  the  North  who,  while  making  loud 
professions  of  loyalty,  are  all  the  while  looking  out  for 
the  '  main  chance ; '  whose  loyalty  goes  no  deeper  than 
their  pockets ;  whose  self-interests  so  far  overbalance  any 
sentiment  of  patriotism  or  loyalty,  that  they  would  be 


212     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Lincoln  men,  or  Davis  men,  just  as  they  thought  the  one 
or  the  other  was  likely  to  win ;  who,  while  claiming  the 
protection  of  one  government  and  getting  from  it  all  they 
could,  were  all  the  while  profuse  in  promises  to  the  other, 
and  ready  to  do  for  it  whatever  they  could,  whereby  to 
put  dollars  in  their  own  pockets  or  honors  upon  their 
own  heads  or  shoulders.  Nor  is  this  sentiment  confined 
to  farmers  and  merchants,  but  the  court  regrets  to  have  to 
believe  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  army,  in  the  navy,  in  the 
very  presence-chamber  of  the  chief  executive,  and  what 
is  true  of  the  North,  the  court  has  no  doubt  is  equally 
true  of  the  South,  though  not  probably  to  so  great  an 
extent. 

"  In  this  case  the  defendant,  doubtless,  excused  himself 
somewhat  on  the  ground  that  he  was  doing  it  upon  his 
own  property,  and  that  he  was  doing  it  as  a  matter  of 
self-preservation,  which,  as  has  been  well  said,  is  the  'first 
law  of  nature.'  But  while  such  pleas  would  be  entirely 
valid  in  time  of  peace,  they  are  not  valid  in  time  of  war. 
At  such  a  time,  all  private  interests  have  to  yield  to  the 
public  good,  and  what  may  seem  like  the  taking  away  of 
natural  rights  from  the  one,  may  be  justice,  only  justice, 
to  the  many.  The  defendant,  too,  though  a  man  of  gen 
eral  intelligence,  was  probably  not  aware  that  he  was 
violating  any  law,  State  or  national,  in  doing  what  he  did. 

"  Viewing  the  case  from  all  these  stand-points,  the 
court  has  decided  to  suspend  sentence  upon  this  defend 
ant  until  he  shall  be  again  found  violating,  or  not  fulfilling, 
the  orders  of  the  court.  Meanwhile,  the  court  orders  that 
the  goods  now  in  Mr.  E.'s  wagon  shall  be  brought  back 
to  Alexandria  and  returned  to  the  parties  from  whom 
they  were  purchased ;  that,  immediately  after,  whatever 
other  goods  may  be  found  upon  Mr.  E.'s  premises  (other 
than  enough  to  support  the  servants  on  the  place  for  one 
month,  if  any  servants  at  all  be  found  there)  shall  be 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY.  213 

brought  to  this  city  and  returned  in  like  manner;  that, 
after  remaining  one  week  longer  on  his  farm,  to  '  put  his 
house  in  order,'  Mr.  E.  shall  return  to  his  home  in  Sussex 
County,  New  Jersey,  and  remain  there  until  the  war  closes; 
that,  if  at  any  time  after  one  week  Mr.  E.  be  found  upon 
his  farm,  or  in  Alexandria,  he  be  at  once  rearrested  and 
brought  before  this  court  for  sentence  upon  the  charges 
now  pending;  and,  if  so  brought,  the  defendant  may  rest 
assured  that  he  will  not  have  opportunity  to  give  the 
enemy  any  aid  and  comfort  after  that. 

"  With  you,  Colonel  W.,  the  court  leaves  the  execution 
of  this  order  in  all  its  details,  and,  while  thanking  you 
for  what  you  have  already  done,  will  thank  you  still  more 
when  you  have  rendered  this  additional  service  for  the 
government." 

The  court  then  adjourned,  and,  of  the  large  number 
present,  there  was  probably  not  one,  save  the  extremists 
on  either  side,  who  might  be  counted  on  one's  fingers 
who  did  not  approve  of  the  action  of  the  court  in  the 
case.  It  need  only  be  added  that  the  orders  of  the  court 
were  carried  out  to  the  letter;  that  Mr.  E.  returned  to 
his  home  in  New  Jersey  and  remained  there  until  the 
war  ended. 

Another  case,  of  altogether  a  different  character,  and 
yet  involving  the  same  principle — namely,  that  of  disloy 
alty  to  the  government  by  aiding  the  enemy  in  a  surrepti 
tious  way — occurred  not  long  after  and  was  as  follows : 

The  "  Hutchinson  Family,"  who  had  been  giving  a  se 
ries  of  concerts  in  Washington,  was  invited  by  some  New 
England  regiments,  encamped  not  far  from  Alexandria, 
to  come  to  their  encampments  and  give  a  series  of  concerts. 
The  "  Family "  had  accepted  the  invitation  and  given 
several  concerts  in  pursuance  thereof.  Of  course,  their 
programme  was  made  up  largely  of  war  lyrics — at  that 
time  by  far  the  most  popular  songs  with  a  Northern 


214     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

audience,  and  especially  with  soldiers — among  which  was 
that  wonderful,  soul-stirring  poem  by  the  Quaker  poet, 
John  G.  Whittier,  as  follows : 

"We  wait  beneath  the  furnace  blast 

The  pangs  of  transformation ; 
Not  painlessly  doth  God  recast 
And  mould  anew  the  nation. 
Hot  burns  the  fire 
Where  wrongs  expire; 
Nor  spares  the  hand 
That  from  the  land 
Uproots  the  ancient  evil. 

"The  hand-breadth  cloud  the  sages  feared, 

Its  bloody  rain  is  dropping; 
The  poison-plant  the  fathers  spared 
All  else  is  overtopping. 

East,  West,  South,  North, 
It  curses  the  earth: 
All  justice  dies, 
And  fraud  and  lies 
Live  only  in  its  shadow. 

"What  gives  the  wheat-field  blades  of  steel? 

What  points  the  rebel  cannon? 
What  sets  the  roaring  rabble's  heel 
On  the  old  star-spangled  pennon? 
What  breaks  the  oath 
Of  the  men  o'  the  South? 
What  whets  the  knife 
For  the  Union's  life? — 
Hark  to  the  answer:  SLAVERY! 

"Then  waste  no  blows  on  lesser  foes, 

In  strife  unworthy  freemen; 
God  lifts  to-day  the  veil,  and  shows 
The  features  of  the  demon* 
O  North  and  South ' 
Its  victims  both, 
Can  ye  not  cry, 
'Let  Slavery  die!' 
And  Union  find  in  freedom? 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY. 

"  What  though  the  cast-out  spirit  tear 

The  nation  in  his  going? 
We  who  have  shared  the  guilt  must  share 
The  pang  of  his  o'erthrowing ! 
Whate'er  the  loss, 
Whate'er  the  cross, 
Shall  they  complain 
Of  present  pain, 
Who  trust  in  God's  hereafter? 

"For  who  that  leans  on  his  right  arm 

Was  ever  yet  forsaken  ? 
What  righteous  cause  can  suffer  harm, 
If  He  its  part  has  taken  ? 
Though  wild  and  loud, 
And  dark  the  cloud, 
Behind  its  folds 
His  hand  upholds 
The  calm  sky  of  to-morrow ! 

"Above  the  maddening  cry  for  blood, 

Above  the  wild  war-drumming, 
Let  Freedom's  voice  be  heard,  with  good 
The  evil  overcoming. 

Give  prayer  and  purse 
To  stay  The  Curse, 
Whose  wrong  we  share, 
Whose  shame  we  bear, 
Whose  end  shall  gladden  Heaven! 

"  In  vain  the  bells  of  war  shall  ring 

Of  triumphs  and  revenges, 
While  still  is  spared  the  evil  thing 
That  severs  and  estranges. 
But  blest  the  ear 
That  yet  shall  hear 
The  jubilant  bell 
That  rings  the  knell 
Of  Slavery  forever ! 

"Then  let  the  selfish  lip  be  dumb, 
And  hushed  the  breath  of  sighing ; 


2l6     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Before  the  joy  of  peace  must  come 
The  pains  of  purifying. 

God  give  us  grace, 

Each  in  his  place 

To  bear  his  lot, 

And,  murmuring  not, 
Endure,  and  wait,  and  labor ! " 

To  this  was  added  another  of  Whittier's  poems,  called 
THE  CRISIS,  as  follows : 

"  The  crisis  presses  on  us ;  face  to  face  with  us  it  stands, 
With  solemn  lips  of  question,  like  the  Sphinx  in  Egypt's  sands ! 
This  day  we  fashion  Destiny,  our  web  of  fate  we'  spin ; 
This  day  for  all  hereafter  choose  we  holiness  or  sin; 
Even  now  from  starry  Gerizim,  or  Ebal's  cloudy  crown, 
We  call  the  dews  of  blessing,  or  the  bolts  of  cursing  down ! 

"  By  all  for  which  the  martyrs  bore  their  agony  and  shame ; 
By  all  the  warning  words  of  truth  with  which  the  prophets  came ; 
By  the  future  which  awaits  us ;  by  all  the  hopes  which  cast 
Their  faint  and  trembling  beams  across  the  blackness  of  the  past, 
And  in  the  awful  name  of  Him  who  for  earth's  freedom  died; 
O  ye  people,  O  my  brothers!  let  us  choose  the  righteous  side! 

"  So  shall  the  Northern  pioneer  go  joyfully  on  his  way, 
To  wed  Penobscot's  waters  to  San  Francisco's  bay; 
To  make  the  rugged  places  smooth,  and  sow  the  vales  with  grain, 
And  bear,  with  Liberty  and  Law,  the  Bible  in  his  train ; 
The  mighty  West  shall  bless  the  East,  and  sea  shall  answer  sea; 
And  mountain  unto  mountain  call :   PRAISE  GOD,   FOR  WE  ARE 
FREE ! " 

Though  the  regiments  to  which  they  sang  were  made  up 
principally  of  anti-slavery  men,  yet  there  were  a  few  pro- 
slavery  men  among  them,  and  these  objected,  loudly  and 
vehemently,  to  introducing  or  stimulating  anti-slavery 
sentiments  among  the  soldiers.  Especially  did  they  ob 
ject  to  those  lines  by  Whittier.  This  caused  considerable 
discussion  among  both  officers  and  men,  which,  through 
one  of  the  pro-slavery  officers,  finally  reached  the  ears  of 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY. 

General  McClellan,  then  in  command  of  the  forces  south 
of  the  Potomac.  The  General,  for  reasons  best  known 
to  himself,  thereupon  issued  an  order  to  the  "  Hutchin- 
son  Family  "  to  sing  no  more  in  the  camps,  and  retire  at 
once. 

In  obedience  to  this  order,  the  "Family  "  left  the  camps 
and  came  to  Alexandria,  on  their  way  to  Washington. 
The  reason  for  their  leaving  the  camps  had  reached  Alex 
andria  before  the  coming  of  themselves,  and  had  produced 
a  very  strong  feeling  among  the  Union  men  of  the  city 
against  General  McClellan,  and  in  favor  of  the  Hutchin- 
sons.  On  reaching  there,  they  were  called  upon  by  a 
number  of  leading  citizens,  among  whom  was  Hon.  Louis 
McKenzie,  afterwards  a  member  of  Congress  from  that 
district,  and  then  and  always  a  consistent  Union  man.  They 
requested  the  Hutchinsons  to  give  a  concert  in  the  city 
before  leaving,  and  promised  them  a  large  and  sympa 
thizing  audience.  The  Hutchinsons  were  entirely  willing 
to  give  a  concert,  provided  they  could  be  assured  of  pro 
tection  ;  but,  having  just  been  ordered  by  General  McClel 
lan  to  leave  his  command,  they  feared  to  sing  again 
south  of  the  Potomac,  unless  they  had  permission,  and 
promise  of  protection,  from  the  local  authorities.  This 
the  callers  promised  to  procure,  and  at  once  went  to  the 
general  headquarters  for  that  purpose. 

They  at  first  called  upon  General  Montgomery.  He, 
while  entirely  sympathizing  with  their  wishes,  hesitated 
about  giving  such  formal  permission,  or  promising  any 
such  protection,  for  the  reason,  that,  being  within  Gen 
eral  McClellan's  command,  the  General  might  regard  it 
as  a  contempt  of  his  order  to  the  Hutchinsons ;  neverthe 
less  he  would  impose  no  objections  of  any  kind,  and  rec 
ommended  the  applicants  to  see  Judge  Freese  about  it. 
General  Montgomery  really  desired  to  do  all  that  the  com 
mittee  requested ;  but,  for  the  reasons  above  stated,  pre- 
19 


2l8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

ferred  that  Judge  Freese  should  do  it,  by  virtue  of  his 
milito-civic  authority  as  judge  of  the  provost-court. 

The  committee  next  called  upon  the  Provost-Judge  and 
laid  all  the  facts  before  him,  stating  that  General  Mont 
gomery  had  suggested  that  they  call  upon  him.  They 
urgently  requested  Judge  Freese  to  grant  the  needed  per 
mission,  with  promise  of  personal  protection.  The  Judge 
did  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  grant  both  requests.  He 
told  the  committee  that  if  the  court,  backed  by  the  pro 
vost-guard,  was  not  strong  enough  to  protect  peaceable 
citizens  in  the  giving  of  a  concert,  no  matter  what  was 
sung,  the  sooner  the  people  knew  it  the  better,  and  he 
was  ready  to  test  the  matter  at  once.  As  to  General  Mc- 
Clellan's  order,  he  regarded  it  as  wholly  unreasonable, 
and  the  army  regulations  required  no  officer  to  obey  an 
"  unreasonable  "  order.  While  he  had  a  very  high  regard 
personally  for  General  McClellan,  he  thought,  in  this 
matter,  he  had  given  too  much  heed  to  the  enemies,  and 
too  little  heed  to  the  friends,  of  the  government;  and, 
whatever  might  be  the  consequences  to  himself,  he  had 
no  hesitancy  in  granting  the  asked-for  permission  and 
promise  of  protection,  even  though  General  McClellan  or 
his  friends  should  regard  it  in  direct  contumacy  of  his 
order  to  the  Hutchinsons.  The  Judge  further  said  to 
the  committee,  that  he  "particularly  desired  Whittier's 
great  poem  to  be  sung,  nor  need  the  singers  hesitate  to  in 
troduce  other  war  lyrics  of  like  character — the  more  the 
better." 

The  committee  then  procured  one  of  the  churches  in 
which  to  hold  the  concert,  and  fixed  upon  the  evening  of 
the  next  day  as  the  time.  Meanwhile  the  Provost-Judge 
directed  the  Provost-Marshal  to  double  the  number  of 
guards  throughout  the  city  for  that  night,  from  eight  to 
twelve  o'clock,  and  to  have  all  who  were  not  on  post  at 


LOYALTY    VERSUS    DISLOYALTY.  2X9 

the  church  while  the  concert  was  being  held — each  with 
loaded  musket  and  fixed  bayonet. 

The  news  of  the  proposed  concert  spread  rapidly- 
through  the  city,  and  when  the  evening  and  hour  arrived, 
every  seat  in  the  church  was  filled,  while  hundreds  were 
gathered  outside.  The  windows  of  the  church  were  thrown 
wide  open,  that  the  citizens  and  soldiers  outside  might 
the  better  hear  the  words  and  music.  The  Provost-Judge 
and  Provost-Marshal  took  seats  near  the  outer  door,  and 
it  was  observed  that  while  they  seemed  to  give  one  ear 
to  the  music,  the  other  was  given  outside,  to  catch  the 
first  note  of  alarm,  should  any  occur.  General  Mont 
gomery  expressed  a  very  strong  desire  to  attend  the  con 
cert,  but,  out  of  courtesy  to  General  McClellan,  his  com 
manding  officer,  thought  he  had  better  not,  and  therefore 
stayed  away.  The  concert  proceeded  without  an  iota  of 
disturbance,  and  gave  great  pleasure  to  the  many  hundreds 
present.  Whittier's  poem,  and  several  others  of  like 
character,  were  so  encored  that  the  singers  were  obliged 
to  repeat  them.  When  the  concert  had  ended,  the  Provost- 
Judge  and  Provost-Marshal,  with  the  guard  which  had 
been  stationed  about  the  church,  accompanied  the  Hutclir 
insons  to  their  lodgings,  and  left  them  in  care  of  trusted 
friends.  They  were  not  disturbed  through  the  night,  and 
left  next  morning  for  Washington,  well  pleased  with  their 
stop-over  at  Alexandria. 

This  was  not  only  a  triumph  over  disloyalty,  but  another 
instance  strongly  illustrating  the  restraining  power  which 
the  provost-court  held  in  that  community.  The  day  pre 
ceding  the  concert,  and  the  day  of  the  evening  on  which 
it  was  held,  there  were  loud  threats  not  only  among  avowed 
secessionists,  but  among  anti-administration  men,  that  the 
concert  should  not  be  given.  Their  own  personal  and  po 
litical  prejudices  had  been  so  aroused,  backed  and  stim 
ulated  by  General  McClellan's  order,  that  a  single  spark 


22O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

would  have  ignited  their  whole  magazine  of  passion  ;  and 
but  for  the  wholesome  dread  which  they  had  of  Judge 
Freese's  "  Bayonet  Court,"  as  they  were  then  in  the  habit 
of  calling  it,  that  spark  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
applied. 

The  love  of  money,  old  political  prejudices,  and  inor 
dinate  ambition,  were  the  three  vile  roots  from  which 
most  of  disloyalty  sprang  during  the  late  war,  both  in 
the  North  and  in  the  South ;  and  the  illustrations  given 
in  this  chapter  are  but  two  of  hundreds  which  might  be 
given,  if  the  proposed  limits  of  this  volume  would  allow. 


222 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

DISL  O  YAL  TY  AS  AFFECTING  THE  RIGHTS  OF  PR OPER  TY. 
ERROR   AND    PREJUDICE   PROMPTING   THE   ACTORS. 

A  NOTHER  class  of  cases  brought  before  the  provost- 
li  court  at  Alexandria  related  to  disloyalty  as  affecting 
the  property-rights  of  individuals.  In  the  hasty  evacua 
tion  of  the  city,  when  the  Union  troops  were  about  com 
ing  in,  many  had  left  their  carpets,  furniture,  pianos,  beds 
and  bedding,  cooking  utensils,  everything,  indeed,  except 
the  clothing  upon  their  persons  and  such  few  things  as 
they  could  pack  in  trunks.  In  some  cases,  persons  re 
maining  in  Alexandria  had  been  given  the  keys  of  aban 
doned  houses  and  stores  and  the  goods  within  left  in  their 
charge ;  but  in  other  cases,  so  great  had  been  the  fright 
and  haste  of  the  occupants,  that  even  this  precaution  had 
not  been  observed.  What  was  true  of  Alexandria  was  no 
less  true  of  the  country  for  several  miles  around.  As 
regiment  after  regiment  came  over  from  Washington  and 
encamped  at  points  from  one  to  five  miles  west  and  south 
of  Alexandria,  they  found  many  farm-houses  and  gentle 
men's  residences  abandoned,  in  which  had  been  left  the 
furniture,  the  pianos,  the  beds  and  bedding,  and  whatever 
else  could  not  be  carried  away  in  trunks.  Of  course,  all 
such  abandoned  residences  were  appropriated  for  head 
quarters  of  divisions,  brigades,  and  regiments,  so  far  as 
they  were  needed  for  such  purposes ;  and,  in  Alexandria, 
such  residences  as  were  not  needed  for  headquarters  were 
quickly  applied  for  (or  taken  possession  of  in  many  cases 
without  any  application  to  the  General  commanding)  by 

223 


224     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

those  who  came  to  the  city  for  purposes  of  trade,  and  for 
other  purposes. 

Thus  far  everything  progressed  with  what  seemed  to  be 
a  sort  of  general  consent ;  but  pretty  soon  a  new  class  of 
questions  arose,  in  which  there  was  a  decided  difference 
of  opinion,  not  only  as  between  Union  citizens  and  seces 
sionists,  but  between  Union  officers  and  Union  soldiers 
as  well.  These  questions  arose  from  an  assumed  right, 
upon  the  part  of  some,  to  appropriate  for  their  own  indi 
vidual  use  and  profit  whatever  had  been  abandoned  by 
those  who  had  gone  into  the  Confederate  lines,  and  who 
thereby  had  openly  declared  themselves  not  only  disloyal, 
but  hostile,  to  the  United  States  government. 

Those  who  assumed  such  right,  attempted  to  justify 
their  opinions  and  their  acts  by  referring  to  the  Act  of 
the  United  States  Congress  of  August,  1861,  by  which 
all  property  used  for  insurrectionary  purposes  was  made 
liable  to  confiscation;  and  they  further  claimed  that  it 
was  but  a  fair  retaliation  to  the  Act  of  the  Confederate 
Congress,  by  which  the  property  of  all  Union  men,  living 
within  the  Confederate  lines,  was  made  liable  to  seques 
tration. 

General  Montgomery  was  among  those  who  believed 
that,  while  the  army,  as  an  army,  had  a  right  to  make  use 
of  property  abandoned  by  an  enemy,  individuals,  whether 
as  officers,  soldiers,  or  citizens,  had  no  such  right;  and 
among  his  first  acts,  after  being  appointed  Military  Gov 
ernor  of  Alexandria,  was  to  direct  his  Assistant  Adjutant- 
General  to  issue  an  order  forbidding  the  use  of  abandoned 
property,  without  permission  first  had  from  general  head 
quarters;  and  when  the  provost-court  was  established, 
he  directed  Judge  Freese  to  see  that  that  order  be  in  no 
way  violated  or  evaded.  In  every  case  reported  to  the 
Judge,  where  an  attempt  was  made  to  take  an  article  from 
an  abandoned  house  and  appropriate  it  to  the  private  use 


DISLOYALTY    AS    AFFECTING    PROPERTY.        225 

of  the  taker,  whether  officer,  soldier,  or  citizen,  the  party 
was  directed  to  refrain,  or,  if  already  taken,  to  return  it  at 
once,  under  the  penalty  of  arrest  and  punishment.  This 
soon  became  so  generally  understood  in  Alexandria  that 
no  further  attempt  was  made  to  appropriate  abandoned 
property  for  private  use  and  profit  there;  but,  after  a 
time,  a  case  arose  from  the  country,  which  required  the 
interposition  of  the  court,  a  trial  of  the  case,  and  a  judg 
ment  ;  and  it  is  this  case  which  we  now  propose  to  relate. 
Dr.  W.  was  the  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Fourth Vol 
unteers,  and  as  good  a  man,  in  every  respect,  as  one  often 
meets.  When  the  government  called  for  troops,  he  was 
among  the  first  to  offer  his  services,  though  at  that  time 
doing  a  large  practice,  having  a  large  family  to  support, 
and  having  but  little  of  this  world's  goods  ;  and  when  the 
Fourth  regiment  was  organized,  the  governor  of  his  State 
appointed  him  its  assistant  surgeon.  This  regiment  was 
among  the  first  to  reach  Washington,  and  the  second  to 
establish  a  camp  beyond  Alexandria.  The  colonel  of 
the  regiment  was  a  wide-awake  New  Englander,  an  in 
tense  anti-slavery  man,  an  ardent  admirer  and  supporter 
of  President  Lincoln,  one  who  believed  that  a  secessionist, 
by  becoming  disloyal  to  the  government,  forfeited  all  the 
rights  he  ever  possessed,  and  that  this  forfeiture  extended 
to  property  quite  as  well  as  to  personal  rights.  Though 
he  was  never  known  to  appropriate  any  abandoned  prop 
erty  to  his  own  private  use  or  profit,  yet  he  had  no  scru 
ples  of  using  it  himself,  and  of  allowing  others  of  his  regi 
ment  to  use  whatever  fell  in  their  way ;  and  if  any  of 
his  officers  or  soldiers  asked  to  appropriate  to  their  own 
use  anything  which  they  had  found,  he  never  answered 
nay.  That  he  was  entirely  conscientious  in  all  this,  no 
one  that  knew  the  man  doubted  for  a  moment,  however 
much  they  might  differ  with  him  in  political  opinion. 
With  a  commanding  officer  holding  such  decided  views, 

P 


226     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

it  was  not  at  all  surprising  that  his  lieutenant-colonel, 
major,  assistant-surgeon,  adjutant,  and  almost,  if  not 
quite,  every  company  officer  should,  erelong,  become  as 
decided  as  himself  upon  this  question. 

Near  the  spot  on  which  they  fixed  for  an  encampment 
was  a  large  house,  which  had  been  abandoned  by  its 
owner  and  occupant  on  the  morning  that  the  Union 
troops  marched  into  Alexandria.  So  hasty  had  been  the 
flight  that  even  the  breakfast-table,  with  the  dishes  upon 
it,  was  left  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  dining-room. 
Not  an  article  of  furniture,  so  far  a,s  could  be  seen,  had 
been  removed.  The  house  had  been  well  furnished,  and, 
among  other  things,  had  a  piano,  about  half  worn.  This 
had  doubtless  been  played  upon  by  daughters  of  the 
family  as  well  as  by  the  wife,  as  there  were  articles 
lying  about  the  parlor  which  plainly  indicated  recent 
occupancy  by  young  ladies.  The  piano  stood  open  when 
the  colonel,  doctor,  and  other  of  his  officers  first  entered 
the  ho,use,  and  that  most  exquisite  of  all  musical  compo 
sitions,  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  was  open  on  the  music- 
holder. 

This  house  the  colonel  at  once  appropriated  for  the 
headquarters  of  his  regiment,  and  not  only  he,  but  his 
lieutenant-colonel,  major,  doctor,  and  adjutant  slept  and 
messed  there.  They  slept  in  the  beds,  lounged  on  the 
sofas,  ate  from  the  table,  drank  from  the  sideboard,  and 
used  nearly  everything  about  the  house  except  the  piano. 
No  one  of  the  officers  played,  and  erelong  the  piano  be 
came  one  of  the  neglected,  if  not  one  of  the  useless,  arti 
cles  about  the  house.  One  day,  when  they  were  all 
lounging  in  the  parlor,  the  doctor  said  to  the  colonel : 

"  What  a  world  of  pleasure  that  piano  would  give  my 
wife  and  daughters  if  I  only  had  it  at  my  own  home !  " 

"  Well,"  replied  the  colonel,  "  why  then  don't  you  send 
it  to  your  own  home  ?  The  owner,  or  once  owner — for  I 


DISLOYALTY  AS  AFFECTING  PROPERTY.   227 

hold,  you  know,  that  rebels  forfeit  everything,  even  their 
lives — is  not  here  to  object,  and  I  am  sure  I  won't." 

This  led  to  a  general  conversation  on  the  subject 
among  all  the  officers  present,  the  conclusion  of  which 
was  that  the  doctor  should  have  the  piano  boxed,  and 
sent  to  his  family  as  soon  as  he  could  conveniently.  This, 
of  course,  pleased  the  doctor  greatly,  and  on  the  follow 
ing  day  he  got  together  boards,  and  a  carpenter,  had  a 
suitable  box  made,  the  piano  carefully  packed,  and  on  the 
day  following  sent  it  to  Alexandria,  with  orders  to  have 
it  forwarded  to  his  home,  in  New  England,  as  speedily  as 
possible.  When  it  was  being  unloaded  at  the  shipping 
warehouse,  one  of  the  provost-guard  chanced  to  be  pres 
ent,  and  inquired  of  those  who  brought  it  where  it  came 
from,  who  sent  it,  and  where  it  was  being  sent  to  ?  Those 
who  brought  it  answered  all  these  questions  without  hesi 
tancy,  nor  did  they  see  any  wrong  in  all  that  was  being 
done ;  but  the  provost-guard,  knowing  what  the  orders  in 
the  city  were  upon  that  subject,  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
inform  the  Provost-Marshal  of  what  he  had  seen,  and  no 
sooner  did  the  Marshal  learn  of  it,  than  he  informed  the 
Provost-Judge. 

The  Judge  directed  the  Marshal  to  go  at  once  to  the 
shipping  merchant,  and  direct  him  not  to  send  that  box 
away  until  further  orders  from  the  court.  He  next 
directed  the  Marshal  to  call  that  afternoon  upon  the 
doctor  and  the  colonel,  and  request  their  presence  at 
the  court-room  next  morning  at  ten  o'clock.  Should 
they  decline  to  attend  by  request,  to  inform  him  at  once, 
when  he  would  order  their  arrest ;  but  he  much  preferred 
to  have  all  the  facts  inquired  into  without  arrests,  if  it 
could  be  done  as  well.  The  Marshal  called  upon  the 
colonel  and  the  doctor  that  same  afternoon,  delivered  the 
Judge's  message,  and  both  promised  to  be  at  the  court 
room  next  morning  without  fail. 


228     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

Promptly,  as  per  promise,  the  colonel,  the  doctor,  and 
several  other  officers  of  the  regiment  were  at  the  court 
room  next  morning.  The  doctor,  it  was  plain  to  see, 
felt  a  little  skary,  but  the  colonel  was  so  confident  of  the 
justice  of  his  case  that  he  rejoiced  in  the  opportunity  of 
convincing  the  Judge  that  for  once,  at  least,  he  was  in 
the  wrong.  When  all  the  other  cases  before  the  court 
had  been  disposed  of,  the  Judge  turned  to  the  doctor, 
and  said : 

"  Now  the  court  will  hear  your  case." 

The  doctor  at  once  arose,  and  said  he  was  there  in 
obedience  to  the  orders  of  the  court,  but  was  not  at  all 
aware  with  what  crime  he  was  charged. 

The  Judge  replied  that,  as  yet,  he  was  not  accused  of 
any  crime,  nor  was  he  present  by  the  "  order,"  but  rather 
by  the  request,  of  the  court.  The  Judge  then  stated  all 
that  he  had  learned  concerning  the  piano,  and  how  he 
had  directed  the  shipping  merchant  not  to  send  it  away 
until  further  orders  from  the  court;  that  he  had  not  issued 
an  order  for  arrest,  for  the  reason  that  he  much  preferred 
to  have  the  whole  matter  inquired  into  amicably,  as  he 
was  under  the  impression  that  all  done  thus  far  had  been 
from  error  of  judgment  rather  than  from  any  intent  to 
do  wrong ;  but,  if  this  course  were  declined,  then  there 
was  but  one  other  way  left — namely,  arrest,  trial,  and 
judgment,  whatever  it  might  be. 

The  doctor  and  the  colonel  both  replied  that  they 
much  preferred  an  amicable  hearing  of  the  case,  and  were 
ready,  whenever  it  might  please  the  court,  to  state  all  the 
facts  within  their  knowledge,  either  under  oath  or  upon 
their  honors  as  gentlemen  and  officers. 

The  Judge  expressed  his  pleasure  at  this  frank  manner 
of  meeting  the  case,  and  told  the  doctor  to  proceed, 
"  upon  his  honor  as  a  gentleman  and  officer,"  to  state  all 
the  facts  of  the  case  within  his  knowledge — to  which  he 


DISLOYALTY    AS    AFFECTING    PROPERTY. 

might  add  any  arguments  he  pleased  by  way  of  justifi 
cation. 

The  doctor,  thus  assured  and  placed  entirely  at  his 
ease,  proceeded,  in  a  calm,  pleasant  way,  to  state  just 
what  had  occurred,  and  how  it  occurred,  since  their  occu 
pancy  of  that  abandoned  house.  He  particularly  detailed 
the  conversation  that  had  incidentally  occurred  between 
the  colonel  and  himself,  which  led  to  the  packing  up 
and  sending  away  of  the  piano — all  of  which,  he  said, 
could  be  confirmed  by  several  officers  then  in  the  court 
room  ;  that  he  had  done  nothing  secretly  or  surrepti 
tiously,  nor  had  he  once  dreamed  that  he  was  doing  a 
wrong  in  anything  he  had  done;  but  if,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  court,  it  was  wrong,  he  was  quite  ready  to  undo 
all  that  he  had  done,  and  have  the  piano  put  back  exactly 
where  he  had  found  it.  As  to  the  matter  of  justification, 
he  preferred  to  leave  that  in  the  hands  of  his  colonel, 
who  had  given  to  the  subject  more  thought,  and  could 
better  express  those  thoughts  than  himself. 

The  Judge  then  extended  to  the  colonel  the  same  in 
vitation  he  had  given  the  doctor,  and  upon  the  same 
terms.  The  colonel  thanked  the  Judge  for  the  courtesy, 
and  then  proceeded  to  state  the  facts  exactly  as  the 
doctor  had  stated  them,  and  exactly  as  heretofore  given 
in  this  chapter.  This  finished,  he  next  entered  upon  an 
argument  to  prove  that  all  that  a  man  had  of  personal 
rights,  of  property,  and  even  of  life,  he  forfeited  when 
he  became  disloyal  to  his  government.  He  laid  special 
stress  upon  the  act  of  sequestration  passed  by  the  rebel 
or  Confederate  Congress,  and  said  that  the  taking  of 
abandoned  property  by  Unionists  on  this  side  of  the  line 
was  only  a  fair  retaliation  for  what  the  rebels  were  doing 
with  the  Union  people  of  the  South.  He  also  referred 
to  the  act  of  confiscation  then  recently  passed  by  the 
United  States  Congress,  and  contended  that  if  the  gov- 

20 


23O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

ernment  thought  it  right  to  confiscate  the  property  of 
rebels  in  a  wholesale  way,  individuals  were  certainly  jus 
tified  in  doing  it  in  a  retail  way.  The  colonel  was 
earnest,  at  times  quite  eloquent,  and  certainly  made  the 
best  argument  that  could  possibly  be  made  on  that  side 
of  the  question. 

When  the  colonel  had  finished,  the  Judge  inquired 
whether  any  other  person  present  desired  to  make  a 
statement  or  an  argument  in  the  case.  Being  answered 
in  the  negative,  Judge  Freese  then  proceeded  to  state  his 
own  views  as  follows  : 

"  The  court  is  obliged,  very  greatly  obliged,  both  to 
the  doctor  and  to  the  colonel,  for  the  cordial  manner  in 
which  they  have  met  the  issues  of  this  case.  The  court 
was  reasonably  satisfied  before,  but  is  still  better  satisfied 
now,  that  nothing  of  wrong  was  intended  in  all  that  had 
been  done ;  that  it  was  simply  an  error  of  judgment,  and 
that  none  will  be  found  more  ready  than  themselves  to 
correct  the  error  so  soon  as  they  are  satisfied  that  it  is  an 
error.  About  the  facts  of  the  case  there  is  no  dispute 
whatever.  All  the  statements  agree.  The  only  question, 
therefore,  is  as  to  the  reason  or  the  law  of  the  case.  This 
court  is  not  strictly  a  law  court.  It  is  rather  a  court  of 
necessity — of  a  '  necessity  that  knows  no  law' — or  of 
equity;  but  in  this  particular  case  it  might  well  afford  to 
stand  upon  the  law  alone,  even  if  there  were  no  equities 
in  the  case  to  be  considered. 

"  The  act  passed  by  the  United  States  Congress,  on  the 
6th  of  August  last,  known  as  the  '  Confiscation  Act/  pro 
vides  that,  *  in  the  present  or  any  future  insurrection,  any 
property  given  to  aid  such  insurrection,  or  used  for  that 
purpose  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  owner, 
shall  be  subject  to  seizure  and  confiscation  ;  that  actions 
for  the  condemnation  of  such  property  shall  be  brought 
in  circuit,  district,  or  admiralty  courts  having  jurisdiction 


DISLOYALTY    AS    AFFECTING    PROPERTY.        23! 

of  the  amount,  and  that  the  attorney-general,  or  any  dis 
trict  attorney,  may  institute  proceedings,  which  in  such 
cases  shall  be  wholly  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States, 
etc'  It  will  be  observed  how  carefully  Congress  has 
pointed  out  every  step  of  the  way  by  which  this  act  shall 
be  executed ;  and  in  order  to  avoid  any  possibility  of 
private  peculation,  the  act  says,  in  so  many  words,  '  such 
case  shall  be  ivholly — not  in  part,  but  WHOLLY — for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States.'  There  is  nothing  in  this 
act  to  justify  a  private  individual  in  taking  so  much  as  the 
value  of  a  pin  from  a  house  abandoned  by  an  avowed 
enemy,  much  less  from  the  house  of  one  who  still  claims 
the  protection  of  the  common  laws  of  his  country,  though 
in  temporary  rebellion  against  the  authorities  now  in 
power.  The  court,  it  will  be  remarked,  puts  emphasis 
upon  the  words  private  individual;  for  it  holds  that,  for 
purposes  of  the  army,  for  purposes  of  attack  and  defence, 
for  purposes  of  sustenance  and  locomotion,  or  even  for 
purposes  of  comfort,  an  army,  or  any  regularly  organized 
part  of  an  army,  may  seize,  hold,  and  use  any  property, 
real  or  personal,  that  may  have  belonged  to  those  now  in 
arms  against  that  government. 

"  The  colonel  has  also  referred  to  the  act  passed  by 
the  Confederate  Congress,  on  the  3Oth  of  August  last, 
known  as  the  '  Sequestration  Act,'  and  thinks  the  passage 
of  that  act  justifies  Union  men  in  appropriating  to  their 
own  use  any  property  that  may  have  been  abandoned  by 
the  enemy.  That  act  was  passed  about  three  weeks  after 
the  '  Confiscation  Act '  by  the  United  States  Congress, 
and  shows  upon  its  face  that  it  was  altogether  retaliatory. 
Indeed,  one  section  of  the  act  says  this  in  so  many  words. 
That  section,  which  really  gives  the  animus  of  the  whole 
act,  reads  as  follows : 

" '  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate 
States,  that  all  lands,  goods,  rights,  and  credits  within 


232     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

these  Confederate  States  owned  by  any  alien  enemy  since 
the  2 1st  of  May,  1861,  be  sequestrated  by  the  Confederate 
States  of  America,  and  shall  be  held  for  the  full  indemnity 
of  any  citizen  and  resident  of  these  Confederate  States, 
or  other  person  aiding  said  Confederate  States  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  present  war,  and  for  which  he  may 
suffer  any  loss  or  injury  under  the  act  of  the  United 
States  to  which  this  act  is  retaliatory,  authorizing  the 
seizure  or  confiscation  of  the  property  of  citizens  or 
residents  of  the  Confederate  States ;  and  the  same  shall 
be  seized  and  disposed  of  as  provided  for  in  this  act! 
Even  this  act,  emanating  from  a  spirit  of  revenge  and 
retaliation,  gives  no  authority,  in  any  part  of  it,  to  private 
individuals  to  seize  for  their  own  use  and  benefit  any 
property  belonging  to  a  Union  man ;  but  expressly  de 
clares  in  the  section  just  quoted,  that  'the  same  shall  be 
seized  and  disposed  of  as  provided  for  in  this  act;'  and 
the  provisions  referred  to  are  quite  as  stringent  and  pre 
cise  as  those  in  the  United  States  '  Confiscation  Act,' 
heretofore  quoted. 

"  The  reason  why  all  governments  are  thus  particular 
in  pointing  out  the  exact  mode  by  which  an  enemy's 
property  may  be  seized  and  appropriated,  is  plain  enough, 
if  one  will  but  stop  and  consider  it.  Without  such  par 
ticularity  of  procedure,  an  army  going  into  an  enemy's 
country  would  soon  become  a  rabble  or  mob — war  would 
soon  become  rapine — officers  would  soon  lose  all  control 
of  their  men,  and  from  thenceforth  plundering,  spoliation, 
and  pillage  would  become  the  order  of  the  day.  Yea, 
more,  it  would  have  the  effect  to  set  an  army  to  warring 
among  themselves,  for  each  officer  and  each  soldier  would 
want  the  '  lion's  share/  and  it  would  only  be  a  question 
of  strength  and  endurance  as  to  which  should  have  it. 

"  In  the  matter  of  the  piano  now  in  question,  what 
more  right  had  the  doctor  to  it  than  the  major?  what 


DISLOYALTY    AS    AFFECTING    PROPERTY.        233 

more  right  had  the  major  to  it  than  any  one  of  the  ten 
captains  of  the  regiment  ?  What  more  right  had  any 
captain  to  it  than  any  one  of  the  twenty  lieutenants  ?  or 
what  more  right  had  any  lieutenant  to  it  than  any  one 
of  the  one  thousand  privates  ?  If  it  were  a  question  of 
strength  only,  the  strongest  man  in  the  regiment  would 
finally  gain  the  prize,  even  though  he  had  to  walk  over 
the  dead  body  of  every  other  man  in  the  regiment  to  gain 
it.  The  court  thinks  that  even  the  doctor,  though  he 
had  his  hands  full  of  scalpels,  or  the  colonel,  though  a 
sword  were  suspended  from  every  hair  of  his  head,  would 
shrink  from  a  contest  of  this  character ! 

"Again,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that,  though  prop 
erty  may  have  been  abandoned  temporarily  by  its  owner, 
he  may  afterwards  repent  of  such  abandonment  and  re 
claim  possession.  Bouvier,  in  his  admirable  'Institutes  of 
American  Law!  Sa7s  •  '  Things  that  have  been  abandoned 
by  the  owner  belong  to  the  first  occupant ;  but  if  the 
owner  should  repent  of  having  thrown  away  or  aban 
doned  the  thing,  he  may  retake  it  before  any  one  else,  and 
he  regains  his  former  title.  To  entitle  the  finder  to  such 
chattels,  the  former  owner  must  have  wholly  abandoned 
his  title ;  if,  as  in  the  case  of  a  wreck,  he  has  parted  with 
the  possession  on  the  ground  of  necessity,  or  with  the 
evident  intention  of  resuming  it,  the  property  has  never 
been  abandoned.' 

"Again,  he  says:  'The  right  of  acquiring  personal 
chattels  by  finding,  is  limited  to  those  found  upon  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  It  does  not  extend  to  goods  found 
derelict  at  sea,  though  abandoned  without  hope  of  re 
covery,  nor  to  goods  or  money  found  hidden  in  the  earth, 
known  by  the  name  of  treasure  trove.  In  England  such 
goods  belong  to  the  crown ;  in  this  country  the  title  to 
them  perhaps  has  been  seldom  questioned  in  the  hands 
of  the  finder,  except  by  the  real  owner.  No  title  by  oc- 

20* 


234     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

cupancy  can  in  this  country  be  gained  in  waifs,  or  stolen 
goods  thrown  away  or  scattered  by  a  thief  in  his  flight, 
in  order  to  effect  his  escape.  In  England  they  belong  to 
the  King ;  here  this  prerogative  has  never  been  adopted 
by  the  government  against  the  true  owner,  and  never, 
perhaps,  put  in  practice  against  the  finder,  though  against 
him  there  would  be  a  better  reason  for  adopting  it.  Nor  can 
any  title  be  gained  by  occupancy  of  estrays,  or  cattle 
whose  owner  is  unknown,  or  of  wrecks,  or  such  goods 
as  after  a  shipwreck  are  cast  upon  the  land  by  the  sea, 
and  left  there,  within  some  county,  so  as  not  to  belong 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  admiralty,  but  to  the  common 
law.' 

"  Kent  in  his  Commentaries  lays  down  the  same  princi 
ples,  and  both  he  and  Bouvier  cite  a  large  number  of  de 
cisions,  both  English  and  American  cases,  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  the  doctrine.  Indeed,  the  principle  has 
been  so  universally  adopted,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  court,  in  this  or  any  other  civilized  country,  that 
would  not  enforce  it,  in  every  case  where  the  question  of 
abandoned  property  was  brought  before  them. 

"  This  is  the  first  attempt,  so  far  as  the  court  knows,  to 
take  a  piano  from  any  one  of  the  many  abandoned  houses 
in  this  city  and  vicinity;  but  frequent  attempts  have  been 
made  to  take  smaller  and  less  valuable  articles ;  and,  in 
every  instance,  where  it  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  court,  the  person  making  the  attempt  has  been  required 
to  return  the  article  to  the  place  where  found.  Nor  can 
the  court  make  any  exception  to  the  rule  in  this  case.  If, 
from  the  law  and  reasons  stated  by  the  court,  the  doctor 
and  the  colonel  have  become  satisfied  that  they  committed 
an  error  in  the  taking  of  the  piano,  and  will,  without  de 
lay,  return  it  to  the  exact  place  where  they  found  it,  and 
promise  to  protect  it  from  removal  or  damage  hereafter, 
or  so  long,  at  least,  as  they  continue  to  occupy  the  house 


DISLOYALTY    AS    AFFECTING    PROPERTY.        235 

for  their  headquarters,  then  no  further  steps  need  be  taken 
in  this  case.  If  they  are  not  so  convinced,  and  decline  to 
make  any  such  promise,  then  the  duty  of  the  court  will 
be  to  order  them  both  in  arrest,  and  that  the  piano  be 
taken  in  charge  by  the  Provost-Marshal,  to  await  the 
further  orders  of  the  court." 

The  doctor  immediately  arose  and  said  he  "desired  to 
extend  his  most  hearty  thanks  to  the  court  for  the  many 
courtesies  which  had  been  extended  towards  him,  and  to 
add,  that  the  reasonings  of  the  court  had  entirely  satisfied 
him  of  his  error;  that  he  would,  without  one  moment  of 
unnecessary  delay,  have  the  piano  returned  to  the  house 
from  whence  taken;  and  that  from  thenceforth,  and  so 
long  as  he  remained  in  the  army,  he  would  use  whatever 
influence  he  possessed  towards  preventing  the  taking  of 
abandoned  property  for  individual  purposes." 

The  colonel  then  arose  and  said  he  was  "  reminded  of 
the  old  maxim,  that  it  '  took  a  bolder  man  to  confess  an 
error  than  to  face  a  cannon's  mouth/  and  while  he  laid  no 
claim  to  boldness,  he  did  claim  to  be  able  to  do  what  he 
believed  to  be  right ;  and  since  he  had  heard  the  law  and 
reason  of  the  case,  as  laid  down  by  the  court,  he  was  free 
to  confess  that  he  had  all  along  been  in  error,  and  that 
the  court  was  in  the  right."  He  had,  he  said,  such  "  an 
utter  detestation  for  disloyalty,  that  nothing,  he  thought, 
could  be  too  great  punishment  for  a  rebel,  and  he  had 
regarded  the  taking  of  their  property — no  matter  when, 
how,  or  by  whom — as  a  part  of  their  just  punishment; 
but  the  reasoning  of  the  court  had  made  it  entirely  clear 
to  his  mind  that,  while  this  could  be  properly  done  by 
the  government  for  the  general  good,  it  could  not  be 
properly  done  by  individuals  for  their  private  gain."  He, 
like  the  doctor,  would  "turn  a  short  corner  on  this  subject, 
and  from  thenceforth  use  whatever  influence  he  possessed 
to  discourage  the  taking  of  abandoned  or  captured  prop- 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

erty  far  private  uses.  So  long  as  he  retained  his  present 
headquarters,  he  would  see  that  nothing  was  removed 
from  the  premises,  and,  so  far  as  it  was  possible,  he  would 
have  returned  whatever  had  been  taken  away." 

Thus  ended,  pleasantly  and  satisfactorily,  what,  at  one 
time,  threatened  to  be  a  very  ugly  case.  Had  the  doctor 
and  colonel  chosen  to  disregard  the  request  of  the  court, 
and  insisted  upon  their  right  to  send  the  piano  to  the 
doctor's  home,  it  would  have  brought  on  a  direct  conflict 
of  authority,  necessitated  arrests,  caused  appeals  to  higher 
authorities,  and  created  confusion  generally;  but  their 
respect  for  the  court  was  such  as  to  overcome  all  these 
unhappy  consequences.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day  on  which  the  case  was  heard,  the  colonel  sent  a  team 
to  the  Provost- Marshal's  office ;  the  Marshal  went  with 
the  driver  to  the  office  of  the  shipping-merchant  and  di 
rected  the  delivery  of  the  piano ;  and  before  sundown  of 
that  day,  the  piano  stood  in  the  exact  spot  from  which  it 
had  been  taken  a  few  days  before. 

The  triumph  of  reason  over  error  and  prejudice  was 
complete.  From  thenceforth  the  long-mooted  and  often 
discussed  question,  as  to  how  disloyalty  affected  the  rights 
of  property,  was  settled  in  and  about  Alexandria.  There 
was  no  further  attempt  to  appropriate  abandoned  property 
for  private  uses. 


238 


CHAPTER   XV. 

A  NEW  WAY  TO  PAY  OLD  DEBTS. 
JUSTICE   SHIFTING  THE  SCENES  AND  PROMPTING  THE  ACTORS. 

A  NOTHER  class  of  questions  which  came  before  the 
Jt\  provost-court  at  Alexandria  excited  at  the  time  a 
large  amount  of  interest;  was  discussed  to  some  extent 
by  many  of  the  ablest  journals  of  the  country;  resulted 
in  the  payment  of  several  old  debts — amounting  to  many 
thousands  of  dollars — in  an  entirely  new  way;  and  as  no 
correct  account  thereof  has  ever  yet  appeared  in  historical 
form,  we  purpose  in  this  chapter  to  relate  the  facts  and 
incidents  connected  with  one  or  two  of  the  cases. 

Though  the  causes  of  the  war  had  been  brewing  for 
many,  many  years ;  though  it  was,  indeed,  as  Mr.  Seward 
had  long  before  called  it,  an  "  irrepressible  conflict,"  which 
could  only  be  settled  by  the  sacrifice  of  thousands  of  lives 
and  millions  of  treasure ;  though  threats,  louder,  deeper, 
and  more  ominous,  came  year  after  year  from  Southern 
States,  and  that,  too,  from  a  class  of  men  whom  all  ac 
knowledged  could  act  as  well  as  threaten  whenever  they 
chose  to.  put  their  threats  into  execution, — yet,  when  the 
storm  did  finally  burst  upon  the  country,  it  seemed  to  tens 
of  thousands  in  the  North  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a 
clear  sky,  so  wholly  were  they  unprepared  for  it.  Espe 
cially  was  this  true  among  merchants,  and  still  more  es 
pecially  was  it  true  with  that  class  of  merchants  who,  for 
many  years  previously,  had  been  selling  goods  to  Southern 
merchants,  and  buying  from  them  cotton,  sugar,  rice,  and 
tobacco.  These  merchants  had,  of  course,  a  great  many 

239 


24O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

pleasant  personal  acquaintances  throughout  the  South ; 
they  had  often  been  at  their  customers'  stores,  dined  with 
their  families,  been  upon  their  plantations,  visited  their 
sugar-mills,  witnessed  the  workings  of  their  cotton-gins, 
admired  the  wonderful  power  of  their  cotton-presses, 
heard  their  negroes  sing  while  picking  the  cotton,  listened 
in  raptures  to  the  peculiar  melodies  of  the  negroes  as  they 
stripped  the  tobacco  leaf  or  rolled  it  into  fragrant  cigars, 
and  though,  even  at  such  times  and  in  such  places,  they 
had  frequently  heard  Southern  merchants  and  Southern 
planters  complain  of  what  they  called  "  Northern  inter 
ference  with  slavery  "  and  "  Northern  oppression  because 
of  tariffs,"  etc.,  etc.,  yet  it  had  never  occurred  to  them  as 
possible  that  the  time  would  come  when  these  same  men 
would  try  to  break  loose  from  the  North  and  set  up  for 
themselves  a  separate  confederacy. 

Such  had  been  the  confidences  between  Northern  and 
Southern  merchants,  that,  for  years  previous  to  the  war, 
the  former  had  been  in  the  habit  of  selling  the  latter 
goods  on  a  whole  year's  credit.  This  was  necessitated, 
in  part,  from  the  fact  that  planters  had  got  behind  in  their 
finances,  and  were  compelled  to  pledge  their  next  year's 
crops  for  their  present  year's  supplies ;  but  it  was  owing 
much  more  to  the  fact  that  confidence,  very  great  confi 
dence,  had  become  established  between  the  Northern  and 
the  Southern  merchant.  This  confidence,  and  consequent 
long  credit,  resulted  in  the  fact  that,  when  the  war  actually 
commenced,  the  merchants  and  planters  of  the  South 
owed  the  merchants  and  cotton  factors  of  the  North  the 
enormous  sum  of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

Some  part  of  this  debt  would  probably  have  been  paid 
had  the  Southern  merchant  and  planter  been  left  to  his 
own  free  choice ;  but  the  governmental  and  military  au 
thorities  of  the  South,  with  a  view  to  cripple  the  North 
and  strengthen  themselves,  had  a  law  passed  so  early  in 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  24! 

the  contest  as  May  2 1st,  1861,  prohibiting  all  debtors 
owing  money  to  Northern  creditors  from  paying  them, 
and  requiring  the  payment  of  the  amount  into  the  Con 
federate  treasury,  either  in  specie  or  treasury  notes,  for 
which  they  were  to  receive  a  certificate  of  the  payment 
bearing  interest  and  redeemable  at  the  close  of  the  war. 
How  much  of  the  sum  due  the  North  was  ever  paid  into 
the  Confederate  treasury  is  not  known,  but  probably  a 
very  small  proportion  of  the  whole  amount.  The  Govern 
ment  having  virtually  repudiated  the  claim  towards  the 
one  to  whom  the  debt  was  actually  due,  it  was  not  unnat 
ural  that  the  merchant  should  repudiate  it  towards  the 
Government,  and  when  asked  the  question  how  much  he 
owed  the  merchants  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  or  Bos 
ton,  his  answer  was,  "  Nothing  at  all ;"  nor  was  the  cred 
itor  or  any  one  else  present  to  dispute  his  answer.  In 
this  way  at  least  one  hundred  and  ninety  of  the  two  hun 
dred  millions  due  the  North  escaped  payment  altogether, 
while  even  the  ten  millions  which  we  suppose  to  have 
been  paid  into  the  Confederate  treasury  were  absorbed 
by  English  capitalists  and  others  like  the  mist  of  a  sum 
mer  morning. 

Among  the  Southern  merchants  who  owed  consider 
able  amounts  to  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  the 
North  were  those  of  Alexandria.  What  may  have  been 
the  gross  amount  of  their  indebtedness  to  the  North  is 
not  definitely  known,  but  certainly  tens,  if  not  hundreds, 
of  thousands  of  dollars. 

Soon  after  the  provost-court  had  been  established  in 
Alexandria,  manufacturers  and  merchants  began  to  come 
there  to  look  after  debts  due  them  from  the  merchants 
of  that  city.  Such  as  had  not  fled  made  such  response 
as  they  could — paying  in  money  if  they  had  it  and  de 
sired  to  continue  in  business,  or  returning  to  their  cred 
itors  so  much  of  their  remaining  stock  as  would  satisfy 

ai  Q 


242     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

their  claims.  Only  in  one  instance,  where  the  debtor 
remained  in  Alexandria,  was  the  creditor  obliged  to  call 
upon  the  Provost-Judge  for  assistance.  In  that  case  the 
debtor  pleaded,  as  an  excuse  for  non-payment,  the  act  of 
the  Confederate  Congress  of  May  2 1st,  heretofore  spoken 
of.  He  wanted,  he  said,  to  pay — "  of  course  he  wanted 
to  pay ;  but,  being  a  Southern  man,  and  with  that  act 
staring  him  in  the  face,  he  did  not  see  how  he  could." 
The  creditor  called  upon  Judge  Freese  and  acquainted 
him  with  the  facts  as  above  stated.  The  Judge  sent  for 
the  debtor  to  meet  the  creditor  at  his  private  office.  He 
there  told  the  debtor  that  "  the  excuse  he  offered  for  non 
payment  was  no  excuse  at  all — indeed,  worse  ;  for,  besides 
being  a  mere  subterfuge,  it  was  a  virtual  acknowledgment 
of  his  own  disloyalty  ;  that  it  mattered  not  at  all  what 
laws  the  Confederate  Congress  had  passed  or  might  pass, 
they  could  not  be  recognized  by  the  citizens  of  Alexan 
dria  so  long  as  it  remained  in  possession  of  the  Union 
troops,  and  that  was  likely  to  be  so  long  as  the  war  con 
tinued  ;  and  that  if  he  had  the  means  to  pay  his  creditor, 
the  sooner  he  did  it  the  better !  "  Within  an  hour  the  debt 
was  paid,  and  it  was  the  last  of  that  kind  of  cases  in 
which  the  Judge  had  to  interfere,  as  within  twenty-four 
hours  the  facts  of  this  case  were  known  to  every  merchant 
of  Alexandria. 

But  there  was  another  class  of  cases  which  came  thick 
and  fast,  and  for  awhile  gave  the  court  a  vast  amount  of 
trouble.  To  relate  the  origin,  the  incidents,  and  the  re 
sults  of  a  few  of  these  will  be  the  object  of  this  chapter. 
The  first  was  as  follows  : 

Mr.  S.  was  an  old  resident  of  Alexandria,  and  for 
several  years  before  the  war  had  been  keeping  an  agri 
cultural  and  hardware  store  in  that  city.  He  was  regarded 
by  his  neighbors  as  a  highly  honorable  merchant,  andv 
being  a  man  of  considerable  means,  had  always  met  his 


A    NEW  -WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  243 

payments  promptly.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth,  and 
when  the  contest  began  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
promptly  took  sides  with  the  South.  Indeed,  he  had  ad 
vocated  secession  so  strongly  and  so  loudly  that  he  feared 
he  would  be  arrested  for  disloyalty  if  he  remained  in 
Alexandria,  so,  when  the  Union  troops  were  about  coming 
in  and  the  Confederate  troops  about  going  out,  he  retired 
with  them.  He  did  this,  however,  so  unexpectedly,  and 
in  so  much  of  a  hurry,  that  he  had  no  time  to  make  a 
formal  sale  and  transfer  of  his  stock  of  goods  to  any  one ; 
but,  on  the  morning  that  he  left,  he  handed  the  key  of 
his  store  to  a  neighbor  and  told  him  to  look  after  his 
affairs  until  he  returned,  or  until  he  could  make  some 
other  arrangement.  The  neighbor  did  as  requested,  kept 
the  store  open,  sold  whatever  he  could  for  ready  cash, 
and  transmitted  the  money  to  Mr.  S.  whenever  he  had  op 
portunity. 

Thus  matters  were  going  on  when  a  Philadelphia  mer 
chant,  to  whom  Mr.  S.  was  indebted,  went  to  Alexandria 
to  look  after  his  claim.  He  had  written  several  letters, 
addressed  to  Mr.  S.,  Alexandria,  Va.,  but  could  get  no 
reply,  and  began  to  suspect  that  he  might  have  left  the 
city,  though  he  had  no  positive  information  to  that  effect 
until  he  reached  there.  He  inquired  of  the  man  whom 
he  found  in  the  store  of  the  whereabouts  of  Mr.  S.,  and 
was  told  that  he  had  left,  on  the  coming  in  of  the  Union 
troops ;  but  where  he  had  gone,  or  exactly  where  he  then 
was,  the  man  in  the  store  pretended  not  to  know.  The 
Philadelphian  said  he  had  a  claim,  past  due,  of  several 
hundred  dollars,  against  Mr.  S.,  and  would  like  to  have  it 
settled  in  some  way.  The  agent  replied  that  he  had  not 
been  authorized  by  Mr.  S.  to  pay  any  debts,  and,  besides 
that,  the  Confederate  Congress  had  passed  a  law  requiring 
all  men  who  owed  debts  to  Northern  merchants  to  pay 
the  amount  into  the  Confederate  treasury,  and  it  was 


244     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

possible  that  Mr.  S.  might  have  already  paid  off  the 
claim  by  paying  it  into  the  Southern  treasury. 

The  Philadelphian  replied  that  he  did  not  recognize  any 
such  payment  as  cancelling  his  claim ;  and,  as  he  ob 
served  some  of  the  very  goods  he  had  sold  Mr.  S.  then 
in  the  store-room,  he  thought  the  agent  ought  to  be  will 
ing  to  return  him  those  goods,  which  he  would  take  in 
payment  at  cost  price,  and  then  to  pay  him  the  balance 
in  money.  The  agent  said  he  could  not,  for  one  moment, 
entertain  any  such  proposition.  That,  the  goods  having 
been  placed  in  his  care  by  Mr.  S.  when  he  left,  he  re 
garded  himself  as  the  owner  of  them,  and  could  not  think 
of  returning  any  part  of  them  to  Mr.  S.'s  creditors,  nor 
of  disposing  of  them  in  any  other  way,  except  for  cash 
in  hand.  The  Philadelphian  tried  to  convince  the  agent 
of  the  justice  and  reasonableness  of  the  proposition  he 
had  made,  and  finally  offered  to  accept  of  goods,  at  cost 
price,  for  the  whole  of  his  claim ;  but  the  longer  he 
reasoned,  the  more  obstinate  grew  the  agent,  until  at  last 
the  agent  said  he  could  not,  and  would  not,  do  anything 
about  it;  that  the  debt  was  not  his  own  anyhow;  that  it 
possibly  had  been  paid  into  the  Confederate  treasury,  and, 
if  so,  was  legally  paid ;  and  that  it  was  only  a  waste  of 
time  and  breath  to  talk  to  him  any  more  about  it. 

The  Philadelphian,  having  read  something  in  the  news 
papers  about  Judge  Freese's  "  Bayonet  Court,"  concluded 
to  seek  the  Judge  and  see  if  there  was  not  some  way  by 
which  his  claim  might  be  enforced.  Going  to  his  office, 
he  told  the  Judge  the  whole  case,  and  begged  that  he 
would  aid  him  in  some  way  to  secure  his  claim. 

The  Judge  replied  that  the  provost-court  had  been 
established  only  with  a  view  of  preserving  the  peace  of 
the  city,  and  the  personal  and  property  rights  of  indi 
viduals,  and  not  with  any  view  whatever  of  collecting 
claims;  that  if  its  jurisdiction  was  enlarged  to  include 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  245 

civil  as  well  as  criminal  cases,  the  business  might  prove 
larger  than  any  one  court  could  do,  and  thereby  defeat 
wholly,  or  in  part,  its  original  intention ;  that  whatever 
he  could  do  by  moral  suasion  to  ihduce  Mr.  S.'s  agent  to 
pay  his  claim,  he  would  most  cheerfully  do,  but  as  to 
opening  the  court  for  the  hearing  and  adjudication  of 
such  cases,  it  was  more  than  he  could  at  present  consent 
to  do.  He  would,  he  added,  send  for  Mr.  S.'s  agent  and 
see  what,  if  anything,  could  be  done.  He  accordingly 
sent  an  orderly  to  request  the  agent  to  come  to  the  head 
quarters  immediately. 

When  the  agent  made  his  appearance,  the  Judge  told 
him  why  he  had  been  sent  for,  and  strongly  urged  him  to 
make  some  equitable  arrangement  whereby  to  settle  the 
claim  of  the  Philadelphia  merchant.  The  agent  made 
about  the  same  reply  to  the  Judge  that  he  had  made  to 
the  Philadelphian,  to  all  of  which  the  Judge  listened  at 
tentively  without  uttering  a  word.  When  he  had  entirely 
finished,  the  Judge  said  he  would  like  to  ask  him  a  few 
questions  to  which  he  would  like  direct  answers.  To 
this  the  agent  assented. 

"  First,  then,"  said  the  Judge,  "  did  Mr.  S.,  before  leav 
ing,  execute  to  you  a  bill  of  sale,  or  any  other  paper,  by 
which  to  make  the  goods  yours  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  the  agent,  "  he  did  not ;  but  when  about 
to  leave  he  handed  me  the  key  of  his  store,  and  told  me 
to  take  care  of  the  goods  until  his  return,  or  until  he 
might  make  some  other  arrangement." 

"Then,"  said  the  Judge,  "the  goods  are  no  more 
legally  yours  than  they  are  mine,  and  you  are  simply  act 
ing  as  guard  over  them.  Have  you  not  been  selling 
some  of  the  goods  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  agent ;  "  I  understood  the  care  to 
include  the  right  to  sell,  and  have  accordingly  sold  of  the 
goods  whenever  I  had  opportunity." 

21* 


246     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

"  What  have  you  done  with  the  money  received  from 
sales  ?  "  said  the  Judge. 

The  agent  became  confused,  hesitated,  stammered,  and 
finally  got  out  that  he  had  "sent  some  of  it  to  Mr.  S.,  and 
still  had  some  of  it." 

"And  it  is  your  intention,  I  suppose."  said  the  Judge, 
"  to  send  it  all  to  him  so  soon  as  you  shall  have  sold  all 
the  goods  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  said  the  agent ;  "  it  would  all 
belong  to  him." 

"  Then  you  think  that  no  part  of  it  would  belong  to 
his  creditors;  but  that  all  should  go  to  him?"  said  the 
Judge. 

"  Well,  yes,  about  so,"  said  the  agent ;  "  for  if  he  has 
paid  his  debts  once  into  the  Confederate  treasury,  as  I 
suppose  he  has  or  will,  it  would  seem  unreasonable  that 
he  should  pay  them  again  to  such  Northern  merchants 
as  he  may  happen  to  owe." 

"Are  you  not  aware,"  said  the  Judge,  "that  any  law 
passed  by  the  Confederate  Congress  is  a  nullity  in  Alex 
andria,  and  can  have  no  possible  effect  on  the  question  of 
contracts?" 

"  Well,  yes,  no,  yes ;  but  Alexandria,  you  know,  is  in 
Virginia,  and  Mr.  S.,  you  know,  is  at  Richmond." 

"Ah!  at  Richmond,  is  he?  Only  a  little  while  ago 
you  told  this  creditor  that  you  did  not  know  where  he 
was,  and  I  understood  you  to  say  the  same  in  your  story 
to  me,  and  now,  all  at  once,  when  you  seek  to  screen  him 
from  justice  and  from  Northern  laws,  you  recollect  that 
he  is  at  Richmond.  Very  well,  sir,  then  to  the  Richmond 
authorities  he  must  look  for  protection,  while  this  North 
ern  merchant  has  no  protection  save  through  our  pro 
vost-court,  and  though  I  told  him,  previous  to  your  com 
ing  here,  that  the  court  could  not  take  up  such  cases,  yet 
now  that  I  have  heard  your  story,  and  see  that  by  allow- 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS. 

ing  you  to  retain  and  sell  the  goods  will  virtually  be  to 
give  '  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy,'  while  to  interfere  in 
behalf  of  this  merchant  will  be  to  weaken  the  enemy,  by 
cutting  off  some  of  his  resources,  besides  doing  an  act  of 
simple  justice — in  view,  I  say,  of  all  these  facts,  I  am 
now  resolved  to  take  up  this  case,  and  the  first  step  in 
the  case  will  be  for  the  .court  to  take  possession  of  the 
store-room  and  all  of  its  contents  until  the  case  can  be 
heard  and  adjudicated.  You  will  at  once  hand  the  key 
of  the  store-room,  after  closing  it  carefully,  to  the  Provost- 
Marshal.  He  will  place  a  guard  over  the  premises  to  see 
that  nothing  is  taken  away  or  disturbed  until  the  case  is 
heard  and  decided,  and  to-morrow  morning,  at  ten 
o'clock,  you  will  be  at  the  court  with  any  books, 
papers,  or  witnesses  you  may  have,  when  the  case  will 
be  heard." 

Had  a  bombshell  fallen  and  burst  at  the  feet  of  the 
agent,  he  could  not  have  been  more  surprised.  For  some 
moments  he  seemed  so  dumbfounded  that  he  could  not, 
or  did  not,  utter  a  word.  Then,  slowly  arising  to  his  feet, 
he  was  about  to  leave,  when  the  Judge  told  him  to  again 
be  seated,  to  await  the  coming  of  the  Provost-Marshal, 
for  whom  he  had  sent. 

When  the  Marshal  made  his  appearance,  the  Judge 
directed  him  to  accompany  the  agent  to  the  store-room, 
to  see  that  every  window  and  every  door  was  securely 
closed  and  fastened,  to  then  place  a  guard  both  at  the 
front  and  at  the  rear  of  the  premises,  and  to  see  that  they 
were  regularly  relieved  and  replaced,  the  same  as  other 
guards  of  the  city,  until  further  orders  from  the  court, 
and  meanwhile  to  retain  the  key  of  the  store-room  in  his 
own  possession,  and  see  that  nothing  whatever  was  re 
moved  from  the  premises. 

The  agent  then  left  with  the  Marshal,  and  all  was  done 
precisely  as  directed.  That  the  Philadelphia  merchant 


248     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

was  pleased  with  the  turn  things  had  taken  need  hardly 
be  added. 

Next  day,  at  ten  o'clock,  the  Philadelphia  merchant,  the 
sgent,  and  about  a  dozen  friends  of  the  agent,  including 
*he  secession  lawyer  heretofore  spoken  of,  appeared  at  the 
court-room.  When  all  the  police  cases  had  been  disposed 
of,  the  court  said  it  was  now  ready  to  hear  the  civil  case, 
in  which,  upon  the  court  record,  Mr.  G.,  of  Philadelphia, 
was  named  as  plaintiff,  and  Mr.  T.,  of  Alexandria,  as  agent 
for  Mr.  S.,  was  named  as  defendant. 

Mr.  G.  arose,  and  said  that  he  had  no  attorney  to  rep 
resent  him  in  this  case,  and  that  he  was  himself  wholly 
unacquainted  with  court  proceedings,  and  did  not  know 
even  how  to  take  the  first  step.  He  begged  to  inquire 
of  the  court  what  was  needed  to  be  done  upon  his  part? 

The  Judge  replied  that  the  first  thing  required  of  him 
was  to  prove  his  claim  against  Mr.  S.,  beyond  any  rea 
sonable  doubt.  To  do  this  he  must  produce  his  original 
books  of  entry,  and  prove  by  the  one  who  sold  the  goods, 
or  by  some  one  who  knows  of  their  delivery,  that  the 
goods  charged  in  the  original  entry  were  actually  sold 
and  delivered  to  Mr  S.,  and  then  you  or  some  one  else 
must,  under  oath  or  affirmation,  satisfy  the  court  that 
they  have  never  been  paid  for. 

Mr.  G.  replied  that  all  this  could  be  done  if  a  few  days' 
time  could  be  given  him;  that  he  had  not  brought  his 
account-books  with  him,  nor  was  the  clerk  who  sold  the 
goods  present.  He  could  himself  at  once  make  affidavit 
as  to  the  correctness  of  the  account,  and  to  the  fact  that 
it  had  never  been  paid,  but  beyond  this  he  could  not  go 
until  he  could  send  to  Philadelphia  for  his  books  and 
clerk ;  that  he  could  have  his  books  and  clerk  present 
if  the  court  would  adjourn  the  case  for  two  days. 

The  court  said  that,  under  the  circumstances,  it  would 
be  entirely  proper  to  grant  the  adjournment  asked  for  by 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  249 

the  plaintiff;  but,  to  justify  the  Marshal  in  longer  retain 
ing  the  goods,  the  court  would  require  Mr.  G.  to  make  a 
written  state-of-demand  against  Mr.  S.,  setting  forth  the 
nature  and  amount  of  his  claim,  and  the  fact  that  the 
claim  had  never  been  paid  in  any  way,  and  was  now 
justly  due  and  owing  to  him.  To  this  he  must  set  his 
name,  and  then  make  affidavit  that  the  statement  is  true. 
Upon  this,  as  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  claim,  the  court 
will  direct  the  Marshal  to  continue  possession  of  the 
goods  until  the  case  can  be  heard.  The  court  asked  the 
defendant  if  he  had  any  objection  to  an  adjournment,  or 
to  the  course  of  procedure  proposed,  to  which  he  an 
swered  that  he  had  not ;  whereupon  the  court  adjourned 
the  case  for  two  days. 

Two  days  after,  the  parties  again  appeared  before  the 
court.  The  plaintiff  now  produced  his  original  books  of 
entry,  and  both  he  and  his  clerk  swore  that  they  were 
such.  The  clerk  swore  that  he  had  sold  to,  and  for 
warded  to,  Mr.  S.  every  article  charged  upon  the  books. 
Mr.  G.  swore  that  he  had  seen  many  of  the  articles  in  Mr. 
S.'s  store-room  on  the  day  he  first  arrived  in  Alexandria ; 
that  the  account  was  due  and  overdue ;  and  that  no  part 
thereof  had  been  paid. 

Mr.  T.  was  then  called  upon  by  the  court  to  make  any 
defence  he  thought  proper.  He  replied  that  he  had  no 
defence  to  make,  further  than  the  Judge  already  knew, 
that  every  fact  and  every  argument  within  his  reach  had 
been  stated  and  made  at  the  interview  had  at  the  head 
quarters.  He  added,  that  the  attorney  which  Mr.  S.  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  employing  before  he  left  Alexandria 
was  in  the  court-room,  and  that  he  had  tried  to  induce 
him  to  take  charge  of  and  conduct  the  case,  but  this  he 
had  declined  to  do,  as  he  was  not  prepared  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  government,  re 
quired  by  the  court  from  all  attorneys  who  would  prac- 


25O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

tise  in  it.  He  had  not  had  opportunity  to  confer  with 
Mr.  S.,  by  letter  or  otherwise,  since  these  proceedings 
commenced,  nor  did  he  know  that  he  should  have  for  a 
long  time  to  come,  else  he  might  ask  for  an  adjournment 
of  the  case  until  he  could  hear  from  him.  Under  all  the 
circumstances  he  saw  no  other  way  than  to  submit  to  the 
judgment  of  the  court,  whatever  it  might  be. 

All  parties  having  rested,  Judge  Freese  said  he  "  would 
have  much  preferred  not  to  take  up  this  class  of  cases, 
but  under  all  the  circumstances  it  was  a  responsibility  he 
could  not  avoid.  The  plaintiff  came  to  this  city  seeking 
his  debtor  and  the  recovery  of  a  just  claim.  Upon  in 
quiry  he  learns  that  his  debtor  has  fled  and  is  now  within 
the  enemy's  lines,  yea,  even  under  the  very  wings  and 
protection  of  the  authorities  at  Richmond.  He  cannot 
pursue  him  thither,  nor  can  he  issue,  or  have  issued,  any 
process  by  which  to  compel  his  return.  The  goods  he 
sold  him,  however,  with  a  large  amount  of  other  goods, 
he  finds  in  Alexandria,  in  possession  of  a  man  who  claims 
to  be  Mr.  S.'s  agent  for  the  care  and  sale  of  his  goods,  but 
not  his  agent  for  the  payment  of  his  debts.  Indeed,  this 
so-called  agent — who,  in  a  legal  sense,  is  no  agent  at  all, 
and  has  no  more  claim  upon  the  goods  than  any  other 
gentleman  in  this  court-room — even  goes  so  far  as  to  say 
that  4  Mr.  S.  may  not  owe  this  plaintiff  anything  now, 
however  justly  he  may  have  owed  him  a  few  months  ago, 
for  the  reason  that  the  Confederate  Congress  has  since 
then  passed  a  law  sequestrating  all  debts  due  from  the 
South  to  the  North ; '  in  reply  to  which  the  court  told 
him,  and  may  now  repeat  for  the  benefit  of  this  whole 
community,  that  it  matters  not  what  laws  may  or  may 
not  be  passed  by  the  Confederate  Congress,  they  can  in 
no  way  affect  the  people  of  this  city  so  long  as  it  remains 
in  charge  of  Union  troops,  and  that  is  likely  to  be  so  long 
as  the  war  continues.  Had  there  been  any  other  tribunal 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  25! 

in  this  city  to  which  this  class  of  cases  could  have  been 
referred,  this  court  would  not  have  taken  them  up ;  but, 
since  the  State  ar\d  county  courts  of  Alexandria  had  vir 
tually  run  away  when  the  people  ran  away,  the  simple 
question  to  decide  was,  whether  this  court  should  take  up 
this  class  of  cases,  in  addition  to  such  as  it  had  already 
taken  up,  or  allow  Mr.  G.t  and  others  like  him,  to  be 
without  any  remedy  whatever  ?  Viewed  from  this  stand 
point,  it  became  a  duty,  a  responsibility,  and  one  which 
the  court  could  not  avoid,  without  inflicting  great  injury 
upon  others  and  consequent  blame  upon  itself. 

"  With  regard  to  the  facts  in  the  present  case  there  is 
not  a  shadow  of  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  court,  nor  is  it 
at  all  probable  that  Mr.  S.  would  deny  any  one  of  them, 
if  here  himself.  He  unquestionably  owes  this  debt  to 
Mr.  G. ;  the  goods  in  the  store-room  which  he  lately 
occupied  unquestionably  belong  to  Mr.  S. ;  Mr.  T.  has 
no  claim  upon  them  whatever,  not  even  the  claim  of  an 
agent  or  clerk,  in  a  legal  sense;  he  has  assumed  authority 
so  far  as  it  suited  his  own  convenience,  but  declines  to 
assume  it  when  it  does  not  suit  his  convenience  or  his 
secession  notions ;  to  sell  the  goods,  pocket  the  money, 
and  transmit  all  or  part  of  it  to  Richmond  was,  to  his 
mind,  all  right — to  pay  Mr.  S.'s  creditors  with  the  money, 
or  with  a  portion  of  the  goods,  was,  to  his  mind,  all 
wrong.  In  all  this  the  court  differs  with  him  entirely, 
and  holds  that  so  much  of  the  goods  as  have  not  been 
paid  for  belong  to  his  creditors  rather  than  to  him,  and 
that  the  agent,  so  soon  as  he  became  satisfied  of  the  cor 
rectness  of  the  claim,  should  not  have  hesitated  a  moment 
about  returning  to  Mr.  G.  so  much  of  his  goods  as  re 
mained  in  store,  and  paid  him  the  balance  in  money  or 
in  other  goods.  It  is  a  principle  of  law  that  a  consider 
ation  of  some  kind  must  pass  from  buyer  to  seller  before 
legal  possession  can  be  claimed  by  the  buyer.  Hence 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

you  see  in  contracts  the  words,  '  For  and  in  consideration 
of  one  dollar,  the  receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowl 
edged,'  etc. ;  whereas  no  dollar,  or  any  other  sum,  has 
passed  between  the  parties,  and  yet  these  words  or  their 
equivalent  are  necessary  in  order  to  make  the  contract 
legal.  It  may  be  answered  that  the  taking  of  a  note,  or 
a  consent  to  a  charge  upon  books  of  regular  entry,  are 
regarded  as  a  '  consideration '  in  the  mercantile  world, 
and  this  may  be  so;  but  certainly,  if  the  purchaser  after 
wards  repudiates  his  note  or  book  account,  or  if  the  gov 
ernment  under  which  he  has  placed  himself  repudiates 
the  debt  for  him,  then  there  is  not,  nor  has  there  been, 
any  '  consideration/  and  the  seller,  in  law  as  well  as  in 
equity,  has  a  right  to  the  goods. 

"Again:  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  Mr.  S.  would  be  re 
garded  as  an  absconded  debtor,  and  had  there  been  a 
court  of  common  pleas  in  this  city,  Mr.  G.  could  have 
had  an  attachment  issued,  and  the  goods  of  Mr.  S.  seized 
and  held  by  virtue  of  that  attachment.  True,  Mr.  S.  has 
not  left  the  State — and  in  most  of  the  States  the  law  re 
quires  that  the  party  shall  have  left  the  State  before  an 
attachment  can  issue — but,  under  the  present  state  of 
things,  Mr.  S.  has  as  virtually  left  the  State,  or  at  least 
the  jurisdiction  of  a  court  in  Alexandria,  as  though  he 
had  gone  to  England.  I  certainly  should  have  taken 
this  view  of  the  case  had  I  been  presiding  in  a  common 
pleas  court,  and  this  case  been  brought  before  me,  and  I 
doubt  not  any  other  judge  would  have  done  the  same. 
In  law,  as  in  other  things,  'circumstances  alter  cases/ 
and  it  is  the  duty  of  a  court  always  to  consider  circum 
stances,  and  to  give  such  construction  to  law  as  will  best 
promote  the  ends  of  justice. 

"  Nor  does  this  principle  at  all  conflict  with  another,  so 
often  and  so  strongly  insisted  upon  by  this  court,  namely, 
that  abandoned  property  shall  not  be  taken  for  private 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  253 

gain.  Had  any  party,  having  no  just  claim  upon  Mr  S., 
attempted  to  take  for  his  own  use  and  profit  any  of  the 
goods  left  by  Mr.  S.  in  that  store-room,  this  court,  if  in 
formed  of  the  attempt,  would  have  used  all  its  power  to 
prevent  such  taking,  and,  if  already  taken,  the  court 
would  have  made  the  party  return  the  goods  to  the 
place  from  whence  taken.  But  the  case  in  hand  is  al 
together  different.  Here  the  party  has  a  claim,  a  just 
claim,  indeed  an  implied,  if  not  a  legal  ownership  in  the 
goods  which  he  seeks  to  take,  and,  instead  of  preventing, 
it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  court  to  assist  in  the  transfer. 
"  But,  again,  it  may  be  said  by  some — and  is  probably 
thought,  if  not  said,  by  this  defendant  and  his  secession 
friends — that,  as  this  is  a  military  court,  it  has  not,  and 
should  not  presume  to  have,  any  jurisdiction  in  civil  mat 
ters,  or  matters  touching  the  transfer  of  property,  real  or 
personal.  As  heretofore  stated,  this  court  surely  would 
not  have  assumed  any  such  jurisdiction,  had  there  been 
a  circuit,  district,  common  pleas,  or  chancery  court  in 
this  city,  to  which  cases  of  this  kind  could  have  been  re 
ferred  ;  but,  as  all  present  well  know,  there  has  been  no 
such  court  here  since  the  Confederate  troops  left,  and  with 
them  all  the  officers  of  State  and  county  courts.  Hence, 
as  before  stated,  it  was  this  court  or  nothing.  But  there 
is  a  view,  and  a  very  strong  view,  of  the  case,  in  which  it 
would  become  not  only  the  right,  but  the  duty,  of  this 
court,  or  of  any  military  court,  to  interfere  in  cases  of 
this  kind,  namely,  where  it  became  known  that  property, 
or  the  proceeds  from  sales  of  property,  was  being  surrep 
titiously  transferred  from  the  hands  of  friends  to  the  hands 
of  enemies.  The  third  section  of  the  third  article  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  defines  treason  to  be 
the  '  levying  of  war  against  the  United  States,  or  in  ad 
hering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort! 
Now,  if  the  transfer  of  goods,  or  the  transfer  of  money 

22 


254     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

from  the  sale  of  goods,  gives  to  an  enemy  '  aid  and  com 
fort,'  then,  surely,  it  is  the  business  of  a  military  court 
to  stop  it,  and  the  evidence  in  this  case  shows  this  to 
have  been  done.  The  agent  admits  that  he  has  sold  the 
goods  for  cash  in  hand  whenever  he  had  opportunity, 
and  that,  as  he  has  had  opportunity,  he  has  transmitted 
the  money  to  Mr.  S. ;  nor  does  he,  or  any  other  of  his 
friends,  pretend  to  deny  that  Mr.  S.  is  an  avowed  enemy 
to  the  government  which  this  court,  in  part,  represents. 

"  So  suddenly  and  so  unexpectedly  has  this  new  class 
of  cases  come  upon  the  court,  that  no  time  has  been  had 
to  consult  with  the  Attorney-General  or  other  legal  gen 
tlemen,  or  even  to  consult  legal  authorities  with  regard  to 
the  matter ;  but  the  court  has  no  doubt  that  the  principles 
laid  down  in  every  law  text-book,  including  Blackstone, 
Kent,  Parsons,  Greenleaf,  Chitty,  Cockburn,  Stephen,  and 
others,  will  fully  justify  every  position  thus  far  taken  by 
this  court,  even  though  there  be  not  a  single  precedent  to 
cite.  While  this  court  would  much  prefer  to  follow  than 
to  make  precedents,  yet  it  has  no  hesitancy  in  making 
them  when  the  circumstances  of  a  case  call  for,  or  justify, 
such  action.  At  the  earliest  possible  moment  the  court 
will  draw  up  and  promulgate  a  course  of  proceedings  in 
cases  of  this  character.  Until  then  the  form  of  proceed 
ings  and  the  manner  of  adjudication  will  have  to  depend 
altogether  upon  the  facts  in  each  particular  case. 

"  The  judgment  of  the  court  in  this  case  is,  that  the 
plaintiff  choose  one  man,  the  defendant  another,  and  the 
two,  a  third,  or,  if  there  be  any  disagreement  about  the 
choice  of  a  third  man,  that  the  Provost-Marshal  act  as 
such  third  man.  That  the  three  thus  selected  constitute 
a  commission,  authorized  and  directed  by  this  court  to 
set  apart,  of  the  goods  left  by  Mr.  S.,  so  much  as  will  pay 
in  full,  at  a  fair  valuation,  the  claim  due  from  Mr.  S.  to 
Mr.  G.;  that  this  commission  shall  fix  the  price  of  every 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  255 

article  transferred  to  Mr.  G.,  and,  where  there  is  a  dis 
agreement  as  to  value  between  the  two,  the  judgment  of 
the  third  shall  be  final ;  that  the  gross  amount  of  goods 
to  be  transferred  shall  include  the  amount  of  Mr.  G.'s  claim, 
the.  estimated  cost  of  transportation  from  this  city  to  Phil 
adelphia,  and  five  dollars  to  each  of  the  commissioners 
for  the  services  they  will  render ;  that  the  commissioners 
make  a  written  report  to  this  court  so  soon  as  the  goods 
have  been  selected  and  set  apart ;  but  that  the  goods  be 
not  taken  from  the  store-room,  until  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  be  approved  by  this  court,  and  an  order 
for  their  shipment  obtained.  The  Provost-Marshal  will 
see  to  the  execution  of  this  order  in  all  its  parts." 

The  court  then  adjourned.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day  each  party  chose  their  man,  and  the  Provost- 
Marshal  consented  to  act  as  the  third.  Next  morning 
the  three  went  to  the  store-room,  accompanied  by  Mr.  G. 
and  Mr.  T.,  and  before  noon  had  a  sufficient  amount  of 
goods  selected  and  set  apart  to  cover  Mr.  G.'s  claim.  In 
the  afternoon  they  presented  their  written  report  to  the 
Provost-Judge  ;  he  examined  and  approved  it,  and  at  once 
gave  an  order  for  the  delivery  and  shipment  of  the  goods. 
Next  day  they  were  shipped,  and  probably  a  better  pleased 
man  never  left  Alexandria  than  Mr.  G. 

The  only  other  case  of  this  character  to  which  we  can 
give  place,  occurred  between  a  large  wholesale  dry-goods 
firm  of  New  York  and  one  of  the  largest  retail  dry-goods 
houses  in  Alexandria,  and  differed  from  the  first  case  only 
in  the  fact  that  here  the  store  was  securely  locked  up,  and 
had  been  ever  since  the  owners  left.  There  was  no  agent 
in  this  case  left  to  sell  or  otherwise  dispose  of  the  goods, 
though  it  came  out,  in  the  course  of  the  evidence,  that 
the  clerk,  with  whom  the  keys  had  been  left,  had  fre 
quently  been  seen  to  take  large  packages  of  goods  from 


256      SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  store,  and  he  acknowledged  that  he  had  sent  some 
across  the  lines  to  his  former  employers. 

In  this  case,  as  in  the  one  related,  the  New  York  mer 
chant  went  to  Alexandria  to  look  after  his  customers,  and 
found  them  gone.  After  considerable  inquiry,  he  found 
the  clerk  who  had  the  keys,  but  the  clerk  said  he  had  no 
authority  from  the  owners  to  do  anything,  and  would  not 
so  much  as  open  the  store  to  allow  the  creditor  to  look 
in.  The  merchant  then  called  upon  Judge  Freese  and 
told  him  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  Judge  informed  him 
that  the  court  now  had  a  regular  course  of  procedure  in 
these  cases,  and  if  he  chose  to  pursue  that  course  he 
could  bring  his  case  before  the  court.  The  merchant  in 
quired  what  was  the  procedure?  The  Judge  informed 
him  that  the  first  step  was,  for  the  party  having  a  claim 
to  make  an  affidavit  as  to  its  amount  and  its  correctness 
— the  same  as  in  cases  of  attachment  in  ordinary  courts ; 
that  thereupon  the  court  issued  an  order,  having  the 
force  of  an  attachment,  to  the  Provost-Marshal,  to  take 
charge  of  the  goods  of  the  defendant  until  such  time  as 
the  case  could  be  heard — usually  in  one  week  from  the 
day  the  attachment  issued ;  that  the  plaintiff  must  then 
produce  his  original  books  of  entry,  or  note,  or  other 
evidence  of  debt,  and  satisfy  the  court,  beyond  any  pos 
sible  doubt,  that  the  debt  is  due  and  unpaid;  that  when 
this  had  been  done — the  defendant  meanwhile,  or  any  one 
for  him,  having,  of  course,  full  opportunity  to  make  any 
defence  within  his  power,  if  any  he  had  to  make — the 
court  appoints  three  wholly  disinterested  persons  to  fix 
the  value  and  set  apart  so  much  of  the  defendant's  goods 
as  would  satisfy  the  claim  of  the  plaintiff,  with  cost  of 
transportation  to  a  market,  and  costs  of  proceedings ;  that 
the  three  commissioners  must  then  make  report,  with 
schedule  of  goods  set  apart,  to  the  court;  that  the  court 
carefully  examines  said  report,  and  if  found  correct  in  all 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  257 

particulars,  then  issues  an  order  to  Provost- Marshal  to  de 
liver  to  plaintiff  the  goods  so  set  apart;  upon  receipt  of 
which  the  plaintiff  executes  receipt  to  Provost-Marshal  for 
the  goods,  as  in  full  liquidation  of  his  claim  against  the 
defendant.  The  proceedings,  the  Judge  said,  were  so 
plain  that  a  child  could  understand  them,  and  so  open 
and  straightforward,  from  first  to  last,  that  a  mistake  was 
scarcely  possible. 

The  merchant  expressed  his  delight  at  the  mode  of 
procedure,  as  detailed  by  the  Judge,  and  said  he  was  ready 
to  make  the  preliminary  affidavit  at  once,  and  in  a  week 
would  return  to  Alexandria  with  his  books  and  witnesses 
to  substantiate  his  claim.  The  Judge  drew  the  necessary 
affidavit ;  the  merchant  subscribed  and  swore  thereto ;  the 
Provost-Marshal  was  sent  for ;  the  order  for  attaching  the 
goods  put  into  his  hands;  and  within  one  hour  from  the 
time  when  the  New  York  merchant  entered  the  Judge's 
office,  guards  stood  in  front  and  at  the  rear  of  the  build 
ing,  to  see  that  no  goods  were  taken  from  the  store-room. 
The  young  man  who  had  the  keys  was  then  sent  for,  and 
told  to  write  to  his  employers,  and  inform  any  friends  of 
his  employers  who  might  still  be  in  Alexandria,  of  just 
what  had  been  done  thus  far,  and  that  the  court  had  ap 
pointed  one  week  from  that  day  to  hear  the  case.  If  they, 
or  any  one  for  them,  had  any  defence  to  make,  they 
should  be  at  the  court-room  at  ten  o'clock  of  that  day 
and  should  then  be  heard.  He  thanked  the  Judge  for  his 
courtesy  in  sending  for  him,  and  for  the  timely  notice 
given  for  defence,  and  was  about  to  retire,  when  the  Judge 
told  him  that  he  might  hand  the  keys  over  to  the  Provost- 
Marshal  until  the  case  had  been  disposed  of.  This  he  at 
first  refused  to  do,  but  a  few  words  from  the  Judge  satis 
fied  him  that  wisdom  was  the  better  part  of  valor,  when 
he  took  the  keys  from  his  pocket  and  handed  them  to 
the  Marshal. 

22*  R 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

In  one  week  the  trial  came  on.  The  New  York  mer 
chant,  on  behalf  of  his  firm,  appeared  with  his  books  and 
with  the  clerk  who  had  sold  and  delivered  the  goods. 
The  defendants  were  not  present,  but  were  represented 
by  their  clerk,  by  the  secession  lawyer  of  the  city,  here 
tofore  spoken  of,  and  by  about  a  dozen  other  gentlemen, 
who  were  friends,  if  not  relatives,  of  the  absconded 
debtors.  The  plaintiff  proved  that  the  books  before 
the  court  were  the  original  books  of  entry  of  the  firm  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  By  his  clerk  he  proved  the 
sale  and  delivery  of  the  goods,  item  by  item,  as  charged 
upon  the  books.  By  himself  he  proved  that  the  debt  was 
now  due,  and  that  no  part  of  it  had  ever  been  paid.  The 
court  then  asked  if  there  was  any  person  present  to  make 
a  defence  in  this  case,  if  so,  they  would  now  be  heard. 
The  clerk  then  arose  and  said  he  "was  instructed  by 
the  attorney  of  the  firm  to  say,  that  while  they  had  no 
formal  defence  to  make  in  this  case,  yet  they  desired  to 
enter  their  protest  against  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court, 
and  to  reserve  to  and  for  themselves  whatever  rights  they 
might  have  under  the  laws  of  Virginia."  He  added, 
that  he  himself  "  was  aware  that  the  firm,  of  which  he 
was  formerly  a  clerk,  had  purchased  goods  of  the  New 
York  firm  represented  in  this  case,  and  had  no  doubt  that 
the  amount  they  claimed  was  due  them  ;  but  that  it  would 
have  been  wiser  and  more  honorable  in  them  to  have 
waited  until  the  war  was  over,  when  they  would  un 
doubtedly  have  been  paid  dollar  for  dollar."  The  court 
inquired  if  there  was  any  other  gentleman  present  who 
desired  to  offer  any  evidence,  or  say  anything  by  way  of 
defence  in  this  case.  There  was  no  response. 

The  court  then  proceeded  to  give  an  opinion  in  the 
case,  which  occupied  nearly  an  hour,  and  was  listened  to 
with  almost  breathless  silence  by  the  large  audience  pres 
ent.  In  amount  claimed,  and  in  point  of  high  standing, 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS. 

both  as  to  the  plaintiffs  and  defendants,  it  was  the  most 
important  case  of  the  kind  yet  brought  before  the  court, 
and  for  the  information  of  the  general  public,  no  less  than 
for  the  parties  immediately  interested,  the  Judge  thought 
it  well  to  state  the  principles  upon  which  the  court  acted, 
and  their  applicability  to  the  case  in  hand.  A  reporter 
present  wrote  out  the  opinion,  which,  by  request  of  the 
New  York  merchant,  was  published  soon  after  in  the 
New  York  Times,  occupying  over  two  columns  of  closely 
printed  matter.  As  most  of  the  principles  enunciated  in 
this  opinion  were  the  same  as  stated  in  the  first  case 
heretofore  given,  it  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  them  here. 
In  reply  to  the  clerk's  request  "  to  reserve  to  and  for 
themselves  whatever  rights  they  might  have  under  the 
laws  of  Virginia,"  and  to  the  opinion  expressed  by  him 
that  "  the  New  York  firm  would  have  acted  wiser  and 
more  honorable  to  have  waited  for  their  claim  until  the 
war  was  over,"  the  court  said : 

"  Of  course,  in  this,  as  in  every  other  case,  the  parties 
can  and  do  reserve  for  themselves  whatever  rights  they 
possess  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  of  which  this  city 
forms  a  part,  and,  if  the  rebellion  succeeds,  the  parties 
reserving  these  rights  will  undoubtedly  make  the  best 
use  of  them  possible ;  but  meanwhile  the  claimants,  so 
far  as  this  court  can  effect  it,  shall  have  a  return  of  their 
own  goods,  or  of  others  equal  in  value  to  their  claim, 
and  after  that,  if  the  debtors,  through  sequestration  laws 
made  by  the  Confederate  Congress,  or  any  laws  now 
made  or  hereafter  to  be  made  by  Virginia,  can  get  the 
goods  back  or  damages  by  way  of  reclamation,  this  court 
at  least  will  have  done  its  duty.  With  regard  to  the 
opinion  expressed  by  the  young  gentleman,  the  court 
begs  to  differ  with  him.  By  his  own  confession  por 
tions  of  the  goods  have  already  been  sent  across  the 
lines,  and  to  that  extent  have  contributed  to  the  'aid 


26O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  comfort'  of  the  enemies  of  this  government,  and  had 
there  been  no  claimants,  no  interference,  there  is  no  man 
ner  of  doubt  that  every  article  in  the  store  would,  sooner 
or  later,  have  gone  the  same  way ;  and  as  to  the  debtors 
paying  the  claim  after  the  war  is  over,  if  we  may  judge 
by  what  they  and  their  chosen  government  have  already 
done,  there  is  no  more  probability  of  it  than  for  the 
waters  of  Niagara  Falls  to  run  backwards.  As  the  leap 
of  the  waters  in  that  case  is  irrevocable,  so  is  the  leap 
from  the  fair  haven  of  loyalty  to  the  deep,  dark  chasm  of 
disloyalty — once  taken,  there  can  be  no  hope  of  return." 

One  other  matter  the  court  explained  in  this  case,  which 
was  not  explained  in  the  first,  namely,  why  the  goods 
were  not  sold  at  public  sale,  and  the  money,  instead  of  the 
goods,  turned  over  to  claimants.  He  said :  "  It  will  be 
observed  that  by  the  rules  of  procedure  adopted  in  these 
cases,  the  court  is  quite  as  careful  to  protect  the  interests 
of  debtors  as  of  claimants.  In  ordinary  actions  for  debt, 
in  courts  of  common  pleas,  the  goods,  after  being  attached 
or  levied  upon,  are  put  up  at  public  sale  and  sold  to  the 
highest  bidder,  and  the  money  received  at  such  sales  paid 
to  claimants.  In  such  cases  it  often  happens  that,  even 
in  a  market,  goods  do  not  bring  one-half  and  sometimes 
not  one-fourth  their  real  value,  and  the  defendant  of 
course  has  to  suffer  the  loss.  If  the  goods  seized  here 
were  thus  exposed  to  public  sale,  at  this  time,  when  two- 
thirds  of  its  ordinary  inhabitants  have  fled  from  the  city, 
and  when  there  is  little  or  no  market  for  anything  outside 
of  army  stores,  they  would  not  bring  one-fourth  their 
cost;  whereas  the  same  goods  taken  to  a  market,  will 
sell  for  about  their  original  cost.  Hence  the  rule  in  the 
proceedings  whereby  goods  are  assessed  by  three  disin 
terested  persons,  and  turned  over  to  the  claimants  at  the 
prices  fixed  by  the  commissioners.  And  the  court  begs 
to  add — though  not  boastfully,  since  it  only  performs  a 


A    NEW    WAY    TO    PAY    OLD    DEBTS.  26l 

duty  in  so  doing — that,  because  of  the  absence  of  the 
defendants,  doubly  the  care  is  taken  that  the  full  market 
value  is  fixed  to  each  article  turned  over  to  the  creditor ; 
and  that  in  every  case  the  court  carefully  supervises  the 
schedules,  to  see  that  no  mistakes  have  been  made. 

"  If  the  goods  were  sold  at  a  public  sale,  the  court 
could  in  no  way  control  the  price,  and  a  debtor's  goods 
might  be  sold  for  one-half  or  one-fourth  of  their  real 
value;  but  by  this  procedure  the  debtor  is  sure  to  receive 
about  the  fair  value  of  the  goods.  The  fact  that  the 
debtor  is  absent  (although  a  rebel  to  the  government 
which  this  court  in  part  represents)  makes  us  all  the 
more  careful  to  see  that  he  shall  have  exact  justice ;  for, 
in  all  these  cases,  this  court  recognizes  the  principles  so 
ably  stated  by  Bouvier,  by  Blackburn,  and  by  others  who 
have  written  on  the  law  of  sales — I.  That  'to  constitute  a 
sale,  there  must  be  a  price,  which  is  the  consideration 
given  for  the  purchase  of  a  thing.'  2.  That  'the  price  must 
be  serious,  or  such  a  one  as  the  seller  intends  to  require 
to  be  paid  to  him.  As  to  the  quantum  of  the  price,  that 
is  altogether  immaterial,  unless  there  has  been  fraud  in 
the  transaction.'  3.  That  '  the  price  must  be  certain  and 
determined,  but  upon  the  maxim  id  cerium  est  quod  reddi 
cerium  potest,  a  sale  may  be  valid,  although  it  is  agreed  that 
the  price  of  the  thing  sold  shall  be  determined  by  a  third 
person'  4.  That  'the  price  must  consist  in  a  sum  of 
money  which  the  buyer  agrees  to  pay  to  the  seller;  for, 
if  it  be  paid  in  any  other  way,  the  contract  is  not  a  sale, 
but  an  exchange  or  barter.  But  it  is  only  requisite  that 
the  agreement  should  be  for  a  payment  in  money ;  in  the 
sequel  it  may  be  changed,  and  the  creditor  may  take  goods 
in  payment,  and  the  contract  will  still  be  a  sale.  It  is  not 
requisite  that  the  money  should  be  paid  down,  either  at 
the  time  of  the  sale  or  the  delivery  of  the  goods ;  it  may 
be  upon  a  credit ',  or  payable  at  a  future  time.'  And,  5.  That 


262     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

'the  consent  of  the  contracting  parties  must  be  obtained; 
by  which  consent  is  meant  an  agreement  to  something 
proposed.  It  does  not  consist  simply  in  a  vague  will  to 
sell  or  to  pay ;  it  must  bear  on  all  the  conditions  which 
may  be  suggested  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  or 
imagined  by  the  caprice  of  the  contracting  parties.' " 

In  this  case,  as  in  others,  the  court  fixed  upon  the 
amount  due  the  claimants,  appointed  three  commissioners 
to  select  and  assess  values  to  goods  to  the  amount  of 
claim,  supervised  the  report  and  schedule  made,  gave 
order  to  the  Provost-Marshal  to  deliver  the  goods;  all 
of  which  was  done,  and  the  New  York  merchant 
returned  to  his  home,  with  the  full  conviction  that  in 
one  city  at  least,  and  in  one  court  at  least,  justice  was 
administered  without  partiality,  and  without  fear  or  favor 
of,  or  to,  any  one. 

Not  only  was  the  Judge's  decision  in  this  case  pub 
lished,  as  heretofore  stated,  in  the  New  York  journals, 
but  the  newspapers  all  over  the  country  had  more  or  less 
to  say  about  it  editorially — some  favorable  and  some  un 
favorable — the  particulars  of  which  and  the  results  of 
which  will  be  more  fully  stated  in  the  next  chapter. 


264 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

LEGAL   TECHNICALITIES  IN  CONFLICT  WITH  COMMON 

SENSE. 

ANOTHER   ACT    IN    THE    DRAMA  —  PRIDE   ON    THE    ONE   SIDE 
AND   JUSTICE    ON    THE    OTHER   PROMPTING   THE    ACTORS. 


is  nothing  so  uncommon  as  common  sense  ; 
nor  is  there  anything  more  distasteful  than  common 
sense  to  such  as  pride  themselves  on  technical  knowledge. 
The  doctor  who  would  rather  kill  by  rule  than  cure  by 
reason,  if  the  reason  chanced  to  come  from  a  sick-nurse, 
or  from  an  old  woman  ;  and  the  lawyer  who  would  rather 
lose  a  case  by  observing  technicalities  and  following  prec 
edents,  than  gain  it  by  exercising  plain  common  sense, 
are  by  no  means  so  rare  as  some  suppose.  They  are  to 
be  found  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  high  as  well  as  low,  and 
whenever  or  wherever  found,  should  be  carefully  noted, 
especially  by  the  historian,  in  order  to  warn  others  from 
falling  into  a  like  error. 

From  the  very  day  the  provost-court  opened  in  Alex 
andria,  the  secessionists  of  that  city,  and  all  whom  they 
could  influence  in  Washington  and  elsewhere,  commenced 
to  oppose  it  —  not  so  much  openly  as  secretly.  This  was 
especially  true  of  the  only  lawyer  remaining  there,  and 
his  reasons  for  opposition  were  of  a  threefold  character. 
First,  he  saw  it  might,  and  probably  would,  be  used  in  the 
interests  of  the  Union  cause  and  in  the  cause  of  freedom, 
and  thus  interfere  with  the  plans  of  secessionists  and  of 
slave-owners  ;  secondly,  he  opposed  it  because  the  court 
refused  to  admit  him,  or  any  other  lawyer,  to  practise  in 
23  265 


266     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

it,  unless  they  would  first  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  United  States  government ;  and  thirdly,  because  the 
court  was  presided  over  by  one  who  was  not  a  professional 
lawyer ;  by  one  who  seemed  to  have  more  regard  for  jus 
tice  and  equity  than  for  legal  technicalities ;  by  one  who 
cared  nothing  about  the  laws  of  Virginia,  or  law  prece 
dents  of  any  State,  if  one  or  the  other  stood  in  the  way 
of  justice ;  by  one  who  preferred  to  be  guided  by  the  rules 
of  common  sense,  rather  than  by  the  rules  of  law.  To 
one  who  is  not  a  professional  man  himself,  all  this  may 
seem  strange;  but  to  one  who  has  mingled  much  with 
professional  men,  it  will  be  readily  understood  as  com 
prehending  cases  which  have  fallen  under  his  own  obser 
vation.  On  the  pretence  of  protecting  the  people,  though 
really  to  protect  their  own  selfish  interests,  both  doctors 
and  lawyers  have  procured  the  passage  of  laws  in  many 
States,  whereby  no  one  is  authorized  to  practise  in  either 
profession  until  he  shall  have  complied  with  such  rules 
and  regulations  as  these  laws  prescribe.  It  is  virtually  a 
relinquishment  by  the  people  of  one  of  the  very  first 
principles  of  freedom — namely,  the  right  to  choose  their 
own  agents  or  servants,  but  it  is  submitted  to  on  the  plea 
that  it  keeps  out  quacks  and  pettifoggers.  If,  while  keep 
ing  these  out,  it  imparted  more  of  common  sense  to  those 
taken  in,  it  would  be  at  least  compensating  in  its  opera 
tions,  but  it  does  neither. 

It  was  observed  that  immediately  after  the  court  fined 
that  secessionist  five  hundred  dollars  for  assault  and  threat 
to  kill  the  Unionist  (an  account  of  which  has  heretofore 
been  given),  the  Alexandria  lawyer  became  doubly  active 
in  his  opposition  to  the  court,  and  it  was  stated,  as  a  reason 
for  his  greatly  increased  activity,  that  the  hardware  mer 
chant  had  agreed  to  give  the  five  hundred  dollars  as  a  fee 
to  the  lawyer,  provided  he  could  get  it  back,  and  procure 
an  order  from  General  McClellan,  or  from  the  authorities 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE.         267 

at  Washington,  to  suppress  the  court.  To  effect  this  ob 
ject  the  Alexandria  lawyer  applied  to  every  prominent 
secessionist  at  Washington,  and  got  from  each  the  prom 
ise  to  bring  to  bear  whatever  influence  he  could,  through 
Northern  sympathizers.  He  went  himself,  personally,  to 
every  lawyer  in  Washington,  and  appealed  to  each  to 
protect  the  "  honor  of  their  profession,"  by  assisting  to 
suppress  a  court  which  had  no  legal  existence,  or,  at  least, 
to  remove  from  its  head  one  who  was  not  a  lawyer,  but 
a  doctor,  by  profession.  Even  several  Union  lawyers 
were  moved  to  activity  by  this  plea  for  "  protection  to  the 
profession,"  while  secession  lawyers  were  ready  enough 
to  make  this,  or  anything  else,  a  plea  whereby  to  cripple 
the  government. 

It  came  to  the  ears  of  Judge  Freese  that  some  of  these 
professedly  Union,  but  really  disloyal,  lawyers  had  gone 
direct  to  President  Lincoln  and  urged  him,  both  as  Presi 
dent  and  as  a  lawyer,  to  issue  an  order  to  suppress  the 
Alexandria  court,  or,  at  least,  direct  the  removal  of  the 
"  doctor-judge."  The  reply,  as  reported  by  one  who 
chanced  to  be  present,  was  characteristic  of  President 
Lincoln,  and  in  about  the  following  words :  "  I  have 
known  Dr.  Freese  as  a  first-class  physician  for  some 
years,  and  have  only  known  of  him  as  a  judge  for  a  few 
months :  but  from  the  way  he  administers  law-doses  to 
these  Alexandrians,  I  am  beginning  to  think  that  he  is 
even  a  better  judge  than  he  is  a  doctor.  He  may  not 
understand  legal  technicalities  and  the  rules  of  courts 
quite  as  well  as  some  lawyers  I  know  of — present  com 
pany,  of  course,  always  excepted — but  he  shows  in  his 
decisions  a  wonderful  deal  of  common  sense,  which  is 
far  better  than  rules  of  law  or  technicalities.  What  they 
say  of  the  doctor  reminds  me  of  a  story  which  is  told 
of  a  man  who  said  he  could  not  cure  chills  and  fever,  but 
was  '  death  on  fits/  and  wanted  all  his  patients  to  have 


268  SECRETS    OF    THE    LATE    REBELLION. 

fits,  when  he  would  cure  them  at  once.  Most  of  our 
lawyers  and  judges  are  death  on  technicalities,  but  can't 
cure  the  commonest  ills  to  which  society  is  subjected ; 
whereas,  Dr.  Freese  is  curing  the  ills  of  Alexandria 
so  rapidly  and  so  successfully,  that  it  will  soon  be  one 
of  the  most  healthy  and  one  of  the  most  thoroughly 
Union  cities  in  the  whole  country.  I  would  not  interfere 
with  him  or  his  court  for  the  world,  and  don't  think  any 
one  else  should." 

Finding  that  they  could  make  no  impression  upon  the 
President,  they  next  went  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Simon 
Cameron.  He  listened  to  all  they  had  to  say,  and  then 
replied  about  as  follows  :  "  Yes,  I  've  heard  considerable 
about  Freese's  '  Bayonet  Court,'  as  secessionists  and 
Northern  sympathizers  with  secession  call  it,  and  the 
more  I  Ve  heard  of  it  the  better  I  like  it.  I  only  wish 
we  had  just  such  a  court,  and  just  such  a  judge  at  the 
head  of  it,  in  every  city  we  Ve  conquered  from  the  rebels. 
They  would  do  more  towards  extracting  the  venom  of 
these  secession  serpents  than  all  our  armies  combined. 
As  to  the  Judge  being  a  doctor,  instead  of  a  lawyer,  by 
profession,  that  only  makes  me  think  the  more  of  him. 
A  lawyer  is  anybody's  man  who  '11  pay  him  a  fee,  and 
the  one  who  '11  pay  the  best  is  apt  to  get  from  him  the 
best  service,  no  matter  on  which  side  he  pretends  to  be 
employed,  but  a  doctor  has  only  to  cure  the  case  in  hand, 
and  can  have  no  conflicting  interests ;  and  from  the  way 
Judge  Freese  is  pulling  out  the  teeth  of  those  secession 
scoundrels,  by  taking  from  them  the  means  to  do  harm 
and  transferring  it  to  the  pockets  of  those  to  whom  it 
justly  belongs,  and  who  will  use  it  to  sustain  the  Union 
cause,  I  am  satisfied  that  he  is  just  the  man  for  the  place, 
and  on  no  account  would  I  do  anything  to  suppress  either 
him  or  his  court." 

Their  next  applications  were  to  the  Attorney-General, 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE.  269 

Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri,  and  Postmaster-General 
Montgomery  Blair,  of  Maryland.  Here  they  struck 
chords  which  were  much  more  likely  to  prove  responsive 
— not  only  because  they  each  had  been  pro-slavery  men 
all  their  lives,  and  would  naturally  resent  Judge  Freese's 
interference  with  the  "  institution,"  and  with  those  who 
still  claimed  the  right  to  hold  and  to  use  "  human  chat 
tels  "  just  as  they  pleased,  but,  more  especially,  because 
they  were  both  lawyers,  both  felt  a  special  interest  in 
maintaining  the  "dignity  of  the  profession  ;"  for  both  ex 
pected  to  return  to  active  practice  so  soon  as  they  vacated 
their  then  official  positions  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  cabinet. 
Mr.  Bates  took  up  the  matter  with  great  earnestness  so 
soon  as  it  was  fairly  before  him,  and,  within  one  hour 
from  the  time  the  self-constituted  committee  left  him,  he 
was  with  the  President,  urging  him  to  suppress  the  court. 
When  Mr.  Lincoln  had  expressed  his  opinions  concerning 
it,  Mr.  Bates,  for  the  time  being,  seemed  entirely  non 
plussed  ;  but  next  day  he  returned  to  the  attack  with  re 
newed  energy,  and  for  days  and  weeks  after  that,  when 
ever  he  met  the  President,  he  had  something  to  say 
against  the  Alexandria  provost-court.  Mr.  Blair  also 
spoke  to  the  President  concerning  it,  and  strongly  con 
tended  that  it  would  greatly  aid  the  Union  cause,  "  es 
pecially  in  the  border  States,"  if  that  court  were  sup 
pressed.  The  President  did  not  think  so,  and  would  give 
no  such  order. 

While  these  efforts  were  being  made  with  the  Presi 
dent  and  with  the  Cabinet,  corresponding  efforts  were 
being  made  with  General  McClellan,  then  in  command  of 
the  troops  on  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac.  Within  a 
week  or  two  from  the  opening  of  the  court,  one  of  the 
General's  aids  called  upon  General  Montgomery  to  make 
inquiry  about  it,  and  several  times  after  that  this  same 
aid  (whom  the  Union  men  of  Alexandria  knew  person- 
23* 


2/O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

ally  as  a  pro-slavery  Washington  sympathizer  with  the 
rebellion,  though  professedly  a  Union  man)  called  upon 
General  Montgomery  to  protest  against  the  acts  of  the 
court,  so  far  as  they  related  to  the  people  of  Alexandria. 
Whether  always  sent  by  General  McClellan,  or  whether 
he  sometimes  called  on  his  own  volition,  was  not  definitely 
known.  The  Alexandria  secession  lawyer  seemed  to  be 
on  intimate  personal  relations  with  this  aid-de-camp,  and 
it  may  have  been  that  this  personal  relationship  stirred  up 
the  aid  to  special  efforts.  Doubtless  the  lawyer  kept 
the  aid,  and,  through  the  aid,  General  McClellan,  well- 
informed  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  Alexandria — espe 
cially  with  regard  to  the  doings  of  the  provost  court. 

Thus  matters  had  gone  on,  and  were  going  on,  up  to 
the  time  when  the  last  case  recorded  in  the  previous 
chapter  was  decided  by  the  court.  The  publicity  given 
to  that  case,  by  the  publication  at  length  of  the  Judge's 
opinion  in  the  New  York  Times  and  other  Northern 
papers,  aroused  the  entire  pro-slavery,  secession-sympa 
thizing  element  of  the  Northern  States,  and  in  a  few 
days  thereafter  it  came  surging  into  Washington  like  a 
flood.  It  beat  against  the  door  of  every  Cabinet  officer ; 
it  rolled  and  tumbled  about  in  every  hotel  and  drinking- 
saloon  ;  it  surged  violently  against  the  White  House ;  and 
even  found  its  way  into  the  executive  chamber.  Mr. 
Bates  now  put  on  renewed  and  increased  vigor,  and  in 
sisted  with  the  President,  that,  as  all  United  States  courts 
belonged  to  his  department,  and  the  people  held  him  re 
sponsible,  as  Attorney-General,  for  their  doings  and  mis 
doings,  he,  and  he  alone,  ought  to  have  the  deciding  of 
the  Alexandria  matter,  and,  if  left  with  him,  he  would  at 
once  suppress  the  court. 

When  things  had  reached  this  crisis,  the  President  sent 
word  to  Judge  Freese  to  call  upon  him  at  his  earliest  con 
venience.  The  Judge,  after  being  stationed  at  Alexandria, 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE.  2/1 

had,  during  the  first  few  months,  called  frequently  upon 
President  Lincoln,  Secretary  Seward,  and  Secretary  Cam 
eron,  as  he  had  known  them  all  personally,  and  somewhat 
intimately,  for  many  years ;  but  for  the  month  preceding 
this  word  from  the  President,  the  Judge  had  been  kept  so 
exceedingly  busy  with  the  affairs  of  his  court  that  he  had 
scarcely  been  to  Washington.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
next  day  after  getting  Mr.  Lincoln's  message,  Judge 
Freese  called  upon  him,  and  was  received  with  the  utmost 
cordiality.  So  soon  as  they  were  entirely  alone,  the  Pres 
ident  told  the  Judge  of  the  position  which  Attorney-Gen 
eral  Bates  had  taken  with  reference  to  the  Alexandria 
court,  and  added  :  "  I  really  think  Bates  will  resign  unless 
he  can  have  his  own  way  in  this  thing.  I  wish,  Doctor, 
you  would  call  upon  him  at  once,  and  see  if  you  can't 
change  his  mind.  It  would  be  a  dreadful  thing,  just  now, 
when  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  war,  to  have  any  Cabinet 
officer  resign,  as  our  enemies  would  regard  it  as  showing 
weakness  on  our  part,  and  as  a  triumph  for  themselves, 
and  yet  I  don't  want  your  court  closed,  if  it  can  possibly 
be  helped.  Call  upon  Bates,  Doctor,  call  upon  Bates,  and 
let  me  know  the  result." 

From  the  President's  room  the  Judge  went  direct  to 
Mr.  Bates's  office  and  had  a  long  conference  with  him. 
The  Attorney-General,  while  admitting  the  correctness 
of  Judge  Freese's  decisions,  so  far  as  he  had  heard  of 
them,  still  insisted  that  there  was  no  law  by  which  the 
existence  of  such  a  court  was  authorized,  and  therefore 
it  ought  to  cease  its  operations  at  once.  The  Judge  ad 
mitted  that  he  knew  of  no  law  by  which  such  a  court  was 
authorized,  but  contended  that  "necessity  knew  no  law," 
and  that  the  existence  of  just  such  a  court  was  a  real 
necessity  in  Alexandria,  not  only  as  a  means  of  preserving 
the  peace  of  the  city,  but  for  all  other  purposes  for  which 
courts  were  ever  used,  since  the  State,  county,  and  munici- 


2/2     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

pal  courts  had  all  run  away  when  the  Union  troops  came 
in,  and  this  was  the  only  court  through  which  justice  could 
be  obtained  in  any  case  or  for  any  purpose.  All  this,  the 
Attorney-General  said,  seemed  to  be  true,  but  it  was  better 
to  wait  for  justice  than  to  violate  known  rules  of  law  in 
trying  to  obtain  it.  "  The  court  has  no  legal  existence, 
sir,  the  court  has  no  legal  existence,"  he  kept  saying 
over  and  over  again,  and  this  was  his  answer,  and  his 
only  answer,  to  every  argument  brought  forth  by  the 
Judge.  The  Judge  finally  made  him  this  proposition : 
"  If  you,  sir,  will  withdraw  your  opposition  to  the  contin 
uance  of  this  court,  I  will  enter  into  a  bond  with  the 
United  States  government,  in  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  with  good  and  sufficient  sureties,  the 
condition  of  which  bond  shall  be,  that,  when  the  war  shall 
have  ended,  every  case  which  has  been  adjudicated  by 
that  court,  and  every  one  which  may  be  adjudicated  by  it 
hereafter,  shall  be  revised  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  or  by  any  one  or  more  of  the  justices 
thereof,  and  if  in  any  case  it  be  found  that  injustice  has 
been  done,  I  will  refund  to  the  parties  doubly  the  amount 
out  of  which  they  have  been  wronged  because  of  the 
action  of  the  court;  or,  if  any  punishment  has  been 
inflicted  beyond  what  the  Supreme  Court  will  say  was 
right,  under  the  circumstances,  I  will  pay  to  the  party 
punished,  or  to  his  legal  representatives,  whatever  dam 
ages  the  Supreme  Court  may  adjudge." 

"  This,  certainly,"  replied  the  Attorney-General,  "  is  a 
very  fair  proposition  on  your  part;  but,  sir,  the  court  has 
no  legal  existence,  no  legal  existence,  and  while  I  remain 
Attorney-General,  and  am  responsible  for  whatever  is  done 
in  this  department  of  governmental  affairs,  I  cannot  con 
sent  that  such  a  court  shall  continue." 

This  ended  their  interview,  for  the  Judge  plainly  saw 
that  he  might  talk  till  doomsday  and  yet  not  change  the 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE. 

Attorney-General's  mind  an  iota.  "  Convince  a  man 
against  his  will,  and  he  remains  of  the  same  opinion 
still,"  says  an  old  maxim,  and  never  was  the  maxim 
better  exemplified  than  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Bates.  He 
was  one  of  those  men  who  looked  at  everything,  as  it 
were,  through  a  gun-barrel,  and  could  see  nothing  to  the 
right  or  left  of  the  one  line  of  vision ;  one  of  those  men 
who  are  so  straight,  that,  like  the  Indian's  gun,  they  "  lean 
a  little  over ; "  one  of  those  self  opinionated  men,  who, 
having  once  conceived  an  idea  or  prejudice,  no  amount 
of  argument  can  change  his  mind. 

The  next  day  the  Judge  again  called  upon  the  Presi 
dent,  and  told  him  all  that  had  passed  between  the 
Attorney-General  and  himself.  The  President  laughed 
heartily  at  the  "  mulishness  of  old  Bates,"  as  he  called  it, 
and  yet  seemed  a  good  deal  annoyed  at  the  unreasonable 
stubbornness  manifested  by  the  Attorney-General.  He  did 
not,  he  said,  know  what  to  do  or  to  say.  He  was  in  a 
quandary,  and  could  not  see  his  way  clearly  out.  Finally, 
he  asked  the  Judge  to  call  upon  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  see  what  he  might  say  about  it. 

The  Judge  then  called  upon  Mr.  Cameron,  and  told  him 
of  the  interviews  he  had  had  with  the  President  and  with 
the  Attorney-General,  relative  to  the  Alexandria  court. 
The  Secretary  listened  attentively,  and,  when  the  Judge  had 
finished,  expressed  opinions  about  the  Attorney-General 
more  forcible  than  polite.  He  talked,  he  said,  "just  like 
a  d — d  old  traitor,  and  if  he  is  not  one,  his  own  tongue 
belies  him !  "  He  strongly  suspected,  he  said,  that  "  both 
Bates  and  Blair  were  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  and  this 
only  went  to  confirm  that  opinion."  He  had,  he  said, 
"  expressed  as  much  to  the  President,  and  would  do  so 
again  when  next  he  met  him."  He  had  thought  himself 
of  resigning,  rather  than  remain  in  the  Cabinet  in  com 
pany  "  with  such  d — d  rascals  and  traitors  to  their  coun- 

s 


2/4     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

try."  For  a  full  half-hour  the  Secretary  fairly  raved  with 
excitement,  and  when  the  Judge  was  about  to  leave,  told 
him  to  hold  on,  let  come  what  would. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  well  to  add  that  within  a 
few  weeks  after  that  interview  Mr.  Cameron  did  resign  his 
place  in  the  cabinet,  and  Mr.  E.  M.  Stanton  was  appointed 
in  his  stead ;  but  whether  Bates's  action  in  the  case  of 
the  Alexandria  court  was  one  of  his  reasons  for  resigning, 
we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  though  it  is  not  at  all  im 
probable. 

Again  the  Judge  called  upon  the  President,  and  told 
him  what  had  passed  between  Secretary  Cameron  and 
himself.  The  President  seemed  now  more  confounded 
than  ever,  and  finally  told  the  Judge  to  let  things  rest  for 
a  few  days  until  he  could  think  over  the  matter,  and  see 
what  was  best  to  be  done. 

About  a  week  after  this,  the  aid-de-camp  of  General 
McClellan,  who  had  so  often  before  called  upon  General 
Montgomery,  called  again,  and  told  him  that  it  was  Gen 
eral  McClellan's  special  wish  that  the  provost-court  should 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  civil  cases,  or  cases  touch 
ing  the  subject  of  slavery  in  any  way.  That  while  Gen 
eral  McClellan  greatly  preferred  not  to  issue  a  formal 
order  on  the  subject,  yet  he  would  certainly  do  so  if 
his  wishes  could  not  be  carried  out  in  any  other  way. 
He  was  not  willing,  the  aid  said,  to  have  Judge  Freese 
interfere  with  the  old  citizens  of  Alexandria  in  any 
way,  though  if  he  chose  to  continue  the  court  merely 
for  the  punishment  of  soldiers  who  got  drunk  within  the 
city  limits,  or  otherwise  disturbed  the  peace,  he  had  no 
objection.  At  the  same  visit,  the  aid  delivered  to  Gen 
eral  Montgomery  an  order  from  General  McClellan  re 
quiring  the  court  to  refund  to  the  Alexandria  hardware 
merchant  the  five  hundred  dollars  which  he  had  been 
required  to  pay  as  -a  fine,:  because  -of  the  assault,  with 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE.  2/5 

threat  to  kill,  upon  the  Union  man — all  of  which  has 
heretofore  been  related. 

When  the  aid  had  gone,  General  Montgomery  sent  for 
Judge  Freese,  and  they  had  a  long  conference  as  to 
what  had  best  be  done  under  the  circumstances.  The 
Judge  had  before  told  the  General  all  that  had  passed 
between  the  President,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Sec 
retary  of  War,  and  himself;  and  the  General  now  told 
the  Judge  all  that  had  passed  between  General  McClel- 
lan's  aid-de-camp  and  himself.  The  Judge  said  that  under 
no  circumstances  could  he  consent  to  continue  the  court, 
if  thenceforth  it  was  only  to  punish  soldiers  for  drunken 
ness  and  other  misdemeanors ;  that  it  had  been  exceed 
ingly  distasteful  to  him  from  the  first  to  have  to  punish  a 
soldier  at  all,  and  now  to  punish  him  alone,  and  let  citi 
zens,  who  committed  offences  far  worse,  go  free  from  pun 
ishment,  would  be,  in  his  opinion,  a  mockery  of  justice, 
and  he  would  not  be  the  presiding  officer  of  such  a  court ; 
that,  it  having  gone  abroad  that  the  court  was  willing  and 
ready  to  assist  Northern  creditors  in  their  efforts  to  collect 
claims  against  disloyal  debtors,  it  would  now  be  exceed 
ingly  unpleasant  to  have  to  deny  such  claimants  as  might 
thereafter  call,  and,  rather  than  have  to  do  this,  he  would 
much  prefer  to  see  the  court  closed ;  for  then  the  public 
would  place  the  responsibility  just  where  it  belonged. 
The  Judge  added,  that  he  knew  the  court  was  placing 
the  President  in  a  very  embarrassing  position,  so  far  as 
related  to  his  Cabinet ;  that,  while  Cameron  and  Seward 
were  anxious  to  have  the  court  continue,  Bates  and  Blair 
were  just  as  anxious  to  have  it  suppressed ;  and  from  the 
order  just  received  from  General  McClellan  to  return  the 
five  hundred  dollars  fine,  it  was  entirely  clear  that  the 
secessionists  of  Alexandria,  and  the  sympathizers  with 
secession  at  the  North,  had  gained  complete  control  over 


276     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

him ;  from  all  of  which  the  Judge  thought  it  would  be 
best  to  close  the  court. 

General  Montgomery  fully  concurred  with  the  Judge  in 
all  these  views,  and  added  that,  as  the  court  had  been 
organized  upon  his  order,  without  first  consulting  with 
General  McClellan  or  the  President,  he  would  much  pre 
fer  to  have  it  close  voluntarily,  than  to  be  compelled  to 
close  it  upon  the  order  of  General  McClellan  or  of  the 
President.  The  Judge  replied,  that  while  he  believed  that 
President  Lincoln  would  never  issue  such  an  order,  no 
matter  what  the  consequences  to  himself  might  be,  still 
he  should  be  glad  to  relieve  the  President  from  what  to 
him  was  evidently  a  great  embarrassment;  and  if  he, 
General  Montgomery,  would  issue  an  order  directing  the 
court  to  close  its  operations  on  the  next  or  any  day  fol 
lowing,  he,  the  Judge,  would  gladly  announce  the  order 
from  the  bench  and  adjourn  the  court  sine  die. 

Such  was  the  conclusion  finally  agreed  upon.  General 
Montgomery  wrote  out  the  necessary  order  and  handed 
it  to  the  Judge.  Next  day,  after  all  the  business  before 
the  court  had  been  disposed  of  as  usual,  the  Judge  read 
General  Montgomery's  order  from  the  bench,  and  ex 
plained  to  those  present  why  it  had  been  issued.  Had  a 
cannon  burst  then  and  there  and  killed  a  hundred  men, 
the  surprise  could  not  have  been  greater.  Some  raved 
at  Attorney-General  Bates,  and  pro-slavery  men  generally ; 
others  cursed  General  McClellan  and  Northern  sympa 
thizers  with  rebellion,  generally ;  deep  and  somewhat  loud 
were  the  mutterings  among  all  present;  but  the  order 
was  irrevocable,  and  thus  closed  at  once  and  forever  the 
provost-court  of  Alexandria. 

Had  that  court  been  continued,  and  others  like  it  es 
tablished  in  every  city  of  the  South,  so  soon  as  they  came 
into  the  possession  of  Union  troops,  at  least  one  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  would  have  been  collected  from  the 


TECHNICALITIES    VS.    COMMON    SENSE. 

property  of  Southern  debtors  and  gone  into  the  pockets 
of  Northern  creditors ;  the  war  would  have  ended  two 
years  sooner;  over  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  would 
have  been  saved  to  the  United  States  treasury ;  and  over 
one  hundred  thousand  lives  been  saved  to  the  homes 
and  families  of  both  the  North  and  the  South.  Only 
at  the  last  judgment-day  will  it  be  known  how  great 
was  the  mistake — a  mistake  which,  in  its  ultimate  con 
sequences,  was  not  less  ruinous  to  the  South  than  to  the 
North — of  those  who  insisted  upon,  and  who  finally  com 
pelled,  the  closing  of  the  provost-court  at  Alexandria. 

We  say  this  after  a  full  consideration  of  the  whole  sub 
ject  as  drawn  from  the  facts  heretofore  detailed  in  this 
volume,  and  do  not  think  we  shall  have  to  take  a  single 
word  of  it  back.  True,  very  true,  as  eloquently  stated  in 
a  letter  from  our  old  friend,  J.  E.  Brush,  Esq.,  of  New 
York — "  Floyd,  Thompson,  and  Cobb,  of  Buchanan's 
Cabinet,  had  so  disarmed  and  depleted  the  government 
of  means,  that  Lincoln  had  very  slender  resources ;  and 
the  gullibility  of  Northern  business  men  in  filling  the 
orders  of  Southern  men  for  war  material,  for  months  pre 
vious  to  the  opening  of  the  war,  proves  that  they  meant 
business,  while  the  North  did  not  take  in  the  situation  at 
all;"  still  we  think,  but  for  the  secret  machinations  of 
Northern  sympathizers — of  men  on  whom,  for  a  time,  the 
government  relied  and  entirely  trusted,  including  generals 
in  the  field,  officers  in  the  navy,  and  even  officers  in  the 
Cabinet — the  war  would  have  been  ended  at  least  two 
years  sooner,  and  hundreds  of  millions  saved  to  the  tax 
payers  of  the  country. 

We  are  aware  that  such  a  statement  at  first  sight  seems 
extravagant,  if  not  wild ;  but  if  the  reader  will  carefully 
weigh  each  factor  of  the  problem,  and  follow  out  the  re 
lation  which  each  bears  to  the  other ;  and  then  if  he  will 
suspend  judgment  until  he  shall  have  read  the  last  chapter 
24 


2/8     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

and  last  line  of  this  book — so  that  he  shall  have  all  the 
facts  before  him,  all  the  secret  springs  which  were  so 
adroitly  worked,  but  of  which  nobody  even  suspected  the 
existence,  all  the  villanies  of  men  singly  and  of  men 
united  in  political  and  religious  associations — we  have  no 
doubt  at  ail  but  what  he  will  reach  the  same  conclusion 
that  we  have  reached  in  the  above  paragraph.  Facts  and 
figures  never  lie  when  properly  placed ;  but  men  are  so 
disposed  to  shut  their  eyes  against  unpleasant  facts,  and 
so  inclined  to  place  figures  in  such  a  way  as  will  bring  the 
result  they  wish  for,  that  the  most  palpable  truths  are  often 
hid,  and  kept  hid,  from  the  public,  until  by  some  accident 
or  incident  the  secrets  are  revealed,  as  in  this  volume. 


280 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

FACTS,  FIGURES,  AND  FAIR  INFERENCES. 

WHEN,  on  the  I5th  of  April,  1861,  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  as  President  of  the  United  States,  called  for 
75,000  men,  for  three  months,  to  suppress  the  rebellion, 
he  did  it  after  repeated  consultations  with  every  mem 
ber  of  his  Cabinet,  both  when  assembled  in  council  and 
privately  with  each  individual  member.  That  Cabinet 
was  one  of  the  ablest,  if  not  the  very  ablest,  that  any 
President  of  the  United  States  ever  had  about  him. 
William  H.  Seward  had  been  Governor  of  New  York, 
had  long  been  United  States  Senator,  and  understood  the 
strength  and  resources  of  each  individual  State,  and  of 
the  whole  Union,  as  well,  probably,  as  any  man  then 
living.  Salmon  P.  Chase  had  been  Governor  of  Ohio, 
long  a  United  States  Senator,  was  a  thorough  statistician, 
mathematician,  and  financier,  and  had  made  the  resources 
of  both  States  and  nation  a  long  and  faithful  study. 
Simon  Cameron  had  been  a  statistician  and  banker  nearly 
his  whole  life,  had  long  been  a  United  States  Senator, 
was  a  man  of  unusually  strong  common  sense,  and  had, 
from  a  political  stand-point,  made  the  Southern  States 
and  their  peculiar  institutions  and  resources  a  special 
study.  Wells  and  Smith  were  good,  strong,  practical- 
sensed  men ;  while  Blair  and  Bates  were  both  Southern 
men,  were  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  institutions, 
with  the  leading  men,  with  the  wealth,  and  with  the 
resources  of  every  Southern  State. 

One  would  have  thought  the  combined  wisdom  of  such 
24*  281 


282     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

a  body  of  men  as  near  perfection,  as  near  certainty  in 
political  prophecy,  as  it  was  possible  for  men  to  attain, 
when  judging  of  the  future  by  inferences  drawn  from 
actual  knowledge  of  the  past  and  present ;  and  yet,  sub 
sequent  events  proved  that  never  were  men  wider  from 
the  mark  than  were  these  men  in  advising  the  President 
to  call  out  75,000  men  for  three  months  to  subdue  the 
rebellion.  Why  this  great  error  of  calculation  and  judg 
ment? 

Those  who  have  carefully  read  the  preceding  chapters 
of  this  book  will  have  the  answer,  in  part,  but  not  the 
whole  answer.  Of  course,  President  Lincoln  and  his 
Cabinet  thoroughly  understood  the  sympathy  which  ex 
isted  between  English  cotton-spinners  and  American 
cotton-growers,  and,  in  their  calculations,  made  due  allow 
ance  for  this  feeling.  They  also  understood  thoroughly 
the  sympathy  existing  between  the  aristocracy  of  Eng 
land  and  king  cotton  of  America ;  for  they  well  knew 
that  the  aristocracy  of  England  were  largely  the  owners 
of  those  cotton-mills  or  furnished  the  capital  with  which 
to  run  them.  For  this,  then,  they  also  made  due  allow 
ance  in  all  their  calculations ;  and,  with  a  view  to  check 
mate  this  influence  as  far  as  possible,  sent  Thurlow  Weed 
on  a  secret  mission  to  England.  They  understood  the 
business  relations  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company 
with  the  Southern  States,  as  well  as  the  relations  of  other 
incorporated  companies,  and  of  merchants  generally,  with 
the  South.  They  knew  of  the  debt  that  was  then  owing 
— nearly  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars — from  Southern 
merchants  to  Northern  merchants,  and  fully  compre 
hended  the  sympathy  which  such  community  of  interests 
would  naturally  create  between  the  parties ;  and  for  all 
this  made  due  allowance.  They  understood,  of  course, 
the  love  of  gain  natural  to  every  man,  and  that  merchants, 
manufacturers,  and  others,  by  the  thousands,  would  be 


FACTS,    FIGURES,   AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.      283 

on  the  constant  lookout  to  make  money  out  of  the  war 
in  any  possible  way  commensurate  with  their  own  safety; 
and  for  this  made  due  allowance  in  their  calculations  as 
to  what  was  to  be  overcome.  And  last,  but  not  least, 
they  well  understood  the  general  sympathy  which  was 
felt  by  the  Democratic  party  of  the  North  for  the  people 
and  peculiar  institutions  of  the  South,  and  how  ready 
some  of  the  leaders  of  that  party  would  be  to  aid  the 
South  in  any  way  they  could  with  safety  to  themselves ; 
but  they  also  understood  that  a  very  large  number  of  the 
followers  of  the  masses — of  the  bone  and  sinew  of  that 
party — were  patriotic ;  while  another  portion,  and  a  very 
large  portion,  would  be  ready  to  hire  themselves  to  do 
whatever  would  pay  best,  and  that  if  large  monthly  pay 
and  large  bounties  were  offered,  these  men  would  be  as 
ready  to  hire  themselves  to  kill  their  fellow-men  as  to 
slaughter  cattle ;  and  with  these  two  elements  (the  patri 
otic  and  the  mercenary),  they  believed  the  party  could  be 
so  far  controlled  as  to  prevent  it  from  doing  any  material 
injury  to  the  Union  cause. 

But  while  comprehending  all  these  things,  and  making 
due  allowance  for  them  all,  they  did  not  comprehend  nor 
make  allowance  for  the  deep-seated,  desperate,  condem- 
nable  villany  that  was  hid  away  in  the  hearts  of  these 
same  Democratic  leaders,  and  that  would  come  forth  from 
its  hiding-places  whenever  and  wherever  it  could  do  so 
with  the  hope  of  gain  to  itself,  or  with  the  hope  of  so 
crippling  the  Union  cause  that  it  would  finally  fail,  when 
the  affairs  of  the  government  would  again  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Democratic  party. 

They  did  not  comprehend,  nor  was  it  possible  for  any 
human  foresight  to  have  conceived  any  one  of  the  many 
secret  devices  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapters  of  this 
volume,  whereby  men  could  and  would  serve  the  rebel 
lion  in  the  guise  of  Unionism ;  whereby  men  would,  while 


284     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

playing  the  patriot,  really  be  the  most  desperate  rebels  at 
heart;  whereby  men  could,  while  receiving  pay  as  gener 
als  in  the  Union  army,  do  acts  whereby  millions  of  dol 
lars  were  lost  to  loyal  merchants;  whereby  transpor 
tation  companies  would,  through  its  leading  officers,  while 
receiving  large  pay  from  the  United  States  government 
for  services  legitimately  rendered,  be  all  the  while  aiding 
the  rebellion  by  furnishing  ships  and  money  with  which 
to  exchange  cotton  for  war  materials  and  army  supplies ; 
whereby,  in  a  word,  the  DEMOCRATIC  party,  as  a  party ; 
would  so  exercise  its  influence  that  vice  disguised  would 
seem  virtue  personified;  that  the  promise  of  a  candidacy 
to  the  office  of  President  would  so  change  the  heart  and 
paralyze  the  arm  of  a  Union  general  as  to  make  him 
favor  the  rebel  cause  by  delays,  and  by  transferring 
(through  the  closing  of  a  provost-court)  the  sinews  of 
war  (millions  of  dollars)  from  Union  pockets  to  rebel 
coffers ;  that  steamship  companies,  while  receiving  the 
protection  of  Union  arms,  would  be  all  the  while  aiding 
the  rebel  cause ;  and  that  men,  otherwise  regarded  as 
honorable,  high-minded  gentlemen,  would,  because  of  old 
political  prejudice  and  present  gain,  meet  in  secret  con 
claves  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Wash 
ington,  and  then  and  there  concoct  the  most  desperate 
measures  in  aid  of  rebellion.  These  were  secrets  which 
no  human  eye  could  penetrate,  exigencies  against  which 
no  human  foresight  could  provide,  and  hence  it  cannot 
be  said  in  truth  that  these  men  failed  in  judgment,  since 
they  only  failed  upon  points  which  were  entirely  outside 
of  all  human  calculation. 

But  for  these  things,  three  months'  service  of  75,000 
men  would  have  been  amply  sufficient  to  crush  the  rebel 
lion,  and  from  this  we  draw  our  first  inference — which  no 
one  can  pronounce  otherwise  than  fair — that  whatever 
time  it  took  beyond  three  months  to  crush  the  rebellion, 


FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.     285 

whatever  men  it  took  beyond  75,000,  whatever  money  it 
cost  beyond  the  pay  of  75,000  for  three  months,  together 
with  collateral  expenses  for  the  same  time,  and  whatever 
lives  it  cost  beyond  what  would  have  been  the  probable 
mortality  among  the  75,000,  are  chargeable,  fairly  charge 
able,  unquestionably  chargeable,  to  the  DEMOCRATIC  party 
as  a  party.  We  are  careful  to  say  as  a  party,  for  we  know 
many  individuals  of  that  party  who  are  as  honorable,  as 
pure,  as  patriotic  as  any  in  the  Republican  party,  and  who 
only  continue  their  connection  with  that  party  (for  they 
know  its  past  sins  and  present  corruptions  quite  as  well 
as  we  do)  either  because  their  fathers  were  Democrats, 
and  they  do  not  wish  to  be  regarded  as  "  turn-coats,"  or 
because  they  think  the  chances  of  political  preferment 
are  better  in  the  Democratic  than  in  the  Republican 
party ;  or,  as  they  have  sometimes  replied  to  us,  half  in 
jest  and  half  in  earnest,  "  the  more  corrupt  the  party  is 
as  a  party,  the  greater  necessity  is  there  to  have  some 
good  men  remain  in  it,  to  prevent  it  from  doing  greater 
injury  to  the  country." 

As  historian,  and  as  readers  searching  after  truth,  our 
next  inquiry  will  naturally  be — First.  How  much  more 
time  did  it  take  to  subdue  the  rebellion  ?  Second.  How 
many  more  men  did  it  take  ?  Third.  How  much  addi 
tional  did  it  cost?  Fourth.  How  many  additional  lives 
were  sacrificed?  All  these  we  regard  as  properly  be 
longing  to  "  SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION,  NOW 
REVEALED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME,"  for  the  reason  that  no 
one  heretofore  has  ever  made  researches  in  this  particular 
direction,  and  while  the  facts  have  existed  ever  since  they 
came  into  being  (just  as  the  continent  of  America  existed 
long  before  Columbus  discovered  it),  yet  they  have  never 
until  now  been  revealed  to  the  public  in  the  relations  and 
connections  to  which  they  historically  belong. 

I.  Though  both  North  and  South  had  been  making 


286     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

preparations  months  before,  the  actual  beginning  of  open 
war  may  be  dated  from  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter,  on 
the  1 2th  of  April,  1861.  The  close  of  the  war  may  be 
reckoned  from  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  to  General 
Grant,  at  Appomattox  Court-House,  on  April  9th,  1865, 
though  it  was  months  after  before  all  the  volunteer  troops 
were  disbanded  and  had  reached  their  homes.  From  the 
firing  on  Fort  Sumter  to  the  surrender  was  three  years,* 
eleven  months,  and  twenty-eight  days ;  or,  to  make  the 
calculation  still  finer,  from  the  calling  out  of  the  seventy- 
five  thousand  troops  to  Lee's  surrender  was  three  years, 
eleven  months,  and  twenty- five  days.  Now,  deduct  from 
this  three  months,  and  you  have  the  extra  time  consumed 
in  crushing  the  rebellion,  every  month,  every  week,  and 
every  day  of  which  is  justly  chargeable  to  the  DEMOCRATIC 
party. 

II.  The  records  of  the  War  Department  show  that 
2,688,523  men  were  called  into  the  national  service  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war.     Deduct  from  this 
number  75,000,  and  you  have  the  additional  number  called 
into  service  because  of  the  secret  machinations  and  villa- 
nies  heretofore  spoken  of.,  viz,  2,613,523,  every  man  of 
whom    is    chargeable,  fairly  chargeable,  unquestionably 
chargeable  to  the  DEMOCRATIC  party. 

III.  At  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year  (June  3Oth)  for  1861, 
the  Treasurer  reported  the  debt  of  the  United  States  to  be 
$90,867,828.     On  the  3 ist  of  March,  1865,  the  Treasurer 
reported  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States  to  be  $2,423,- 
437,001,  showing  an  increase  during  the  war  of  $2,332,- 
567,173.     This  increase  of  debt  of  the  general  govern 
ment  by  no  means  represents  the  sum-total  cost  of  the 
war;    for,  meanwhile,  the  people  had  been  paying  im 
mensely  increased  taxes  every  year,  and  beside  this  every 
State,  every  county,  every  large  city,  and  almost  every 
township  of  the.  North  had  been  issuing  bonds  with  which 


FACTS,    FIGURES,   AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.     28/ 

to  pay  bounties  and  other  war  expenses,  so  that  in  1865 
the  amount  of  bounties  paid  by  States  and  local  authorities, 
so  far  as  returned  to  the  general  government,  amounted 
to  $285,941,036.  Add  this  to  the  government  debt  and 
you  have  the  sum  of  $2,709,378,037.  It  is  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  for  any  mind  to  really  comprehend  so  large  a 
sum,  and  the  only  way  to  appreciate  it  is  to  divide  it  among 
families,  or  individualize  it.  In  1860  the  United  States 
census  returns  show  for  the  eighteen -Northern  States 
18,855,831.  In  1870  the  returns  show  for  the  same  States 
24,035,359.  There  being  no  census  returns  for  1865  (as 
the  United  States  census  is  only  taken  at  the  close  of  each 
ten  years),  the  only  way  to  approximate  the  population 
then  is  to  divide  the  increase  between  1860  and  1870. 
This  indicates  a  population  in  these  eighteen  States  for 
1865  to  have  been  about  21,445,595.  Now  the  average 
estimate  for  each  family  is  five.  This  would  give  us 
4,289,119  families  as  existing  in  these  States  at  that  time. 
Next,  divide  the  number  of  families  into  the  number  of 
dollars  of  public  debt,  and  you  show  that  upon  each  family 
was  saddled,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  a  debt  of  $631.68. 
Or,  to  individualize  it,  divide  this  sum  by  five,  and  you 
have  the  sum  of  $126.33  as  ^e  average  debt  then  owing 
by  every  man,  woman,  and  child  then  residing  in  the  eigh 
teen  Northern  States.  Thus,  it  mattered  not  how  poor  a 
man  was,  or  how  many  children  he  had,  a  ticket  of  indebt 
edness  for  the  sum  of  $126.33  was  plastered  on  the  fore 
head  of  each.  "  Oh,  well,"  some  one  may  say,  "  that  was 
easy  enough  for  rich  men  to  pay,  and  of  course  the  poor 
never  paid  it,  nor  never  will,  since  many  of  the  very  poor 
never  handle  as  much  money  as  that  in  all  their  lives. 
Why,  to  a  man  with  ten  children  (and  the  poor,  you  know, 
generally  have  the  most)  that  would  have  made  a  debt  of 
$1515.96,  which  of  course  he  could  never  pay,  in  addition 
to  supporting  his  family."  Ah!  but,  my  friend,  there  is 


288     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

just  where  you  are  most  mistaken  ;  for  it  is  just  that  class 
of  men,  together  with  farmers,  who  do  pay  much  the  larger 
proportion  of  public  debts.  True,  they  never  pay  it,  nor 
would  try  to  pay  it,  in  dollars  and  cents  to  the  tax-gath 
erer  ;  but  they  pay  it  in  the  increased  price  they  pay  the 
merchant  for  the  tea  and  coffee  they  drink,  for  the  mus 
lins  and  woollens,  and  hats  and  shoes  they  wear;  they 
pay  it  in  increased  rents  and  decreased  wages ;  and  the 
farmer  pays  it  not  only  in  every  article  that  he  purchases, 
but  in  increased  taxes  and  in  decreased  receipts  for  what 
he  raises  to  sell.  And  what  these  fail  to  pay,  the  rich  have 
to  pay  in  increased  taxes  for  State,  county,  township,  or 
municipal  purposes. 

Now  let  us  apply  these  facts  to  the  solving  of  the  prob 
lem  (third) — How  much  additional  did  it  cost  ? 

This  we  can  only  do  approximately  by  stating  the 
problem  thus  :  If  to  bring  into  the  field  2,688,523  men  for 
forty-seven  months  cost  $2,709,378,037,  how  much  would 
it  have  cost  to  bring  in  75,000  for  three  months?  De 
duct  this  sum,  amounting  to  $4,824,369  from  the  whole 
cost,  and  we  have  remaining  the  sum  of  $2,704,553,668 
as  the  additional  cost  of  the  war  because  of  the  secret 
machinations  and  most  desperate  villanies  described  in 
the  previous  chapters  of  this  book — every  dollar  of  which, 
every  penny  of  which,  is  justly  chargeable  to  the  DEMO 
CRATIC  party  as  a  party.  Or,  to  make  the  matter  still 
plainer,  more  than  three-fourths  of  all  the  taxes  which 
the  poor  man,  or  farmer,  or  rich  man  has  heretofore  paid, 
or  will  hereafter  pay,  whether  upon  what  he  eats  and 
drinks  and  wears,  or  upon  cash  paid  tax-collector,  is  di 
rectly  chargeable  to  the  DEMOCRATIC  party. 

IV.  How  many  additional  lives  were  sacrificed  ?  This, 
like  the  last  question,  can  only  be  answered  approximately, 
and  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning. 

The  reports  made  to  the  War  Department,  during  the 


FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.     289 

war,  show  the  total  loss  to  have  been  280,420  men — the 
very  sight  of  which  figures  makes  the  heart  sink  in  agony 
and  sicken  over  the  thought,  and  yet  there  is  no  escaping 
their  terrible  reality. 

To  get  at  the  additional  sacrifice,  the  proposition  may 
be  stated  thus :  If  in  a  war  lasting  forty-seven  months, 
with  2,688,523  men  in  service  (of  whom  1,500,000  it  is 
estimated  were  in  battles),  the  sacrifice  of  life  amounted 
to  280,420  men,  what  would  have  been  the  sacrifice  had 
the  war  lasted  only  three  months,  with  75,000  men  in 
service  ?  The  answer  to  this  problem  is  499  lives.  Now 
take  this  number  from  the  former,  and  you  have  as  the 
additional  number  279,921  lives — the  loss  of  which  is  as 
fairly  attributable  to  the  DEMOCRATIC  party  as  though  it 
had  by  sentence  condemned,  and  by  its  own  power  had 
executed,  every  one  of  these  men. 

The  remains  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  who 
died  in  the  service  never  were  gathered,  but  to-day  lie  in 
Southern  swamps,  scattered  over  Southern  cotton-fields, 
or  at  the  bottom  of  the  deep,  blue  sea,  "  unknown, 
unhonored,  and  unwept ; "  but  the  remains  of  other 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  have  been  gathered, 
and  now  lie  in  National  cemeteries  at  Arlington  Heights, 
at  Gettysburg,  at  Antietam,  at  Beverly,  and  at  many  other 
places  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land. 
The  above  calculations  show — and  figures  never  lie  when 
correctly  placed — that  if  upon  ninety-five  out  of  every  one 
hundred  headstones  erected  to  the  memory  of  these  de 
parted  heroes  in  the  National  and  private  cemeteries 
of  our  country,  were  written  the  words,  DIED  BY  THE 
HANDS  OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY,  the  record  would  be 
as  true  as  anything  now  written  upon  those  headstones. 

We  are  fully  aware  of  the  terrible  character  of  this  in 
dictment.  We  know  already  how  many  thousands  will 
hold  up  their  hands  in  holy  horror  and  exclaim,  Oh,  this 
25  T 


2QO     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

cannot  be  so !  These  are  not  the  words  of  a  historian, 
but  of  a  politician,  who  allows  his  prejudices  to  get  the 
better  of  his  reason  !  But  hold,  my  friend,  hold,  and  think 
twice  before  you  condemn  once.  Are  they  not  words  of 
truth  and  soberness  ?  Examine  each  proposition  just  as 
carefully  as  you  would  examine  one  of  Euclid's  problems 
(for  this  is  just  what  we  have  tried  to  do),  and  see  if  it 
is  possible  to  reach  any  other  conclusion.  Republican 
though  we  certainly  are,  yet,  in  examining  these  ques 
tions  as  a  historian,  we  have  tried  to  divest  our  mind  of 
every  particle  of  political  prejudice,  and  though  the  results 
of  our  researches  and  calculations  are  as  astounding,  as 
terrible,  as  sickening-of-heart  to  us  as  they  can  possibly 
be  to  any  one  of  our  readers,  yet  the  figures  would  show 
no  other,  and  we  have  had  to  accept  them  as  veritable. 

And  yet  the  secret  is  only  half  out — the  story,  as  yet, 
but  half  told.  The  losses  of  time,  of  money,  and  of 
lives  heretofore  spoken  of  relate  only  to  the  North — the 
Southern  side  of  the  story  remains  yet  to  be  told;  for  in 
this  volume  we  are  writing  no  less  for  the  information  of 
Southern  than  of  Northern  men,  nor  would  we  in  this 
record  do  any  less  justice  to  the  South  than  to  the  North. 

Jefferson  Davis,  however  wild  and  mistaken  politically, 
was  never  other  than  a  high-minded,  chivalrous  gentle 
man.  He  was  just  as  honest  in  his  advocacy  of  slavery 
as  Paul  was  in  his  advocacy  of  Phariseeism ;  and  when 
Davis  went  forth  to  catch,  imprison,  and,  if  need  be,  to 
slay  the  enemies  of  slavery,  he  did  it  as  conscientiously 
as  Paul  did,  or  meant  to  do,  his  work,  in  going  to  Damas 
cus  with  the  commission  of  a  high-priest  in  his  pocket. 
Not  only  so,  but  President  Davis  was  a  man  of  deep 
knowledge,  a  thorough  statistician,  a  cool  calculator,  and 
one  who  never  took  a  step  without  first  carefully  counting 
the  cost.  He  was  the  farthest  possible  remove  from  a 
reckless  man.  When  a  young  man  in  the  United  States 


I 
FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.     2QI 

army  and  with  the  troops  in  Mexico,  he  never  struck  a 
blow,  or  made  the  least  move,  without  first  considering 
all  the  chances.  In  this  respect  he  was  almost  as  careful 
and  as  prudent  as  his  renowned  father-in-law,  General 
Zachary  Taylor.  As  a  United  States  Senator  he  was  re 
markable  for  his  caution  and  foresight,  and  though  he 
sometimes  took  part  in  sharp  debate,  his  general  political 
tactics  were  conservative,  watch  for  chances,  investigate 
thoroughly,  and  then  strike  with  effect. 

Now,  we  have  it  only  second- handed  from  President 
Davis's  own  lips  that  he  would  never  have  thought  of  a 
war  with  the  North — never  would  have  recommended 
such  a  war — never  would  have  engaged  in  such  a  war — 
"  but  for  encouragement  given  him,  and  actual  pledges  made 
him,  by  leading  Democrats  of  the  Northern  States"  He 
had  once  been  Secretary  of  War ;  he  had  been  a  United 
States  Senator  for  several  years  preceding  the  rebellion ; 
he  thoroughly  understood  the  resources,  not  only  of  the 
general  government,  but  of  each  individual  State,  and 
would,  as  he  said,  have  thought  it  perfect  madness  for  the 
South  to  have  attempted  a  separate  confederation,  "  but 
for  the  pledges  of  assistance  made  him  and  others  by  lead 
ing  Democrats  of  the  Northern  States."  Of  this,  as  an  his 
torical  fact,  there  is  no  more  doubt  than  that  there  was  a 
war.  Outside  of  President  Davis's  own  word,  the  facts 
heretofore  related  in  this  volume,  and  a  thousand  others 
which  might  be  adduced,  are  confirmatory  of  these  state 
ments. 

Again,  the  men  whom  President  Davis  had  about  him 
as  a  Cabinet  and  as  outside  advisers  were  generally  men 
of  marked  intelligence  and  large  experience,  one  of  whom 
(John  Tyler)  had  been  President  of  the  United  States ; 
some  had  been  United  States  Senators  ;  others,  Congress 
men  ;  others  had  all  their  lives  been  connected  with  the 
army  or  navy;  and  scarcely  one  of  all  but  what  thor- 


2Q2     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

oughly  understood  the  strength  and  resources,  not  only 
of  the  general  government,  but  of  each  State,  North  and 
South.  Is  it  to  be  presumed  that  a  single  one  of  these 
men  would  have  ever  thought  of  rebellion,  or  said  one 
word  to  encourage  it,  but  for  the  assurances  they  had  from 
leading  Northern  DEMOCRATS  that  the  party,  as  a  party \ 
would  sustain  them  in  such  a  movement? 

If  these  facts  be  admitted,  and  this  inference  be  con 
ceded,  does  it  not  follow  as  an  inevitable  conclusion  that 
the  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY,  as  a  party,  is  responsible  before 
God,  and  should  be  held  responsible  before  all  men,  for 
the  time  wasted,  the  money  squandered,  and  the  lives  sacri 
ficed  by  the  South  in  their  attempt  to  establish  a  separate 
confederacy  ? 

We  cannot  give  the  exact  figures,  for  the  archives  of 
the  Confederate  government  were  mostly  destroyed  when 
the  rebels  fled  and  the  Union  army  took  possession  of 
Richmond;  but  think,  reader,  think  how  many  weary 
days,  and  weeks,  and  months,  and  years  of  untold  suffer 
ing  that  was  caused  by  that  mad  and  murderous  attempt; 
think  of  the  houses  burned,  homes  desolated,  plantations 
ruined,  by  the  frenzy  and  fury  of  reckless  demagogues ; 
think  of  the  thousands  of  affluent  families  made  homeless 
and  penniless  by  this  mad  attempt,  and  of  the  thousands 
upon  thousands  who  were  once  comfortable  now  turned 
out  as  beggars  to  die,  through  the  efforts  of  a  band  of 
conspirators;  think  of  the  millions  upon  millions  of  hard- 
earned  dollars  squandered,  worse  than  squandered,  by 
this  mad  attempt ;  think  of  the  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  wives  made  widows,  children  made  fatherless,  parents 
made  childless,  by  this  foul  treason ;  and  then  think — for 
if  you  are  honest  with  your  own  conscience,  and  can  fid 
yourself  of  political  prejudice,  you  must  think  it — that  all 
this  waste  of  time,  all  this  squandering  of  money,  all  this 
sacrifice  of  lives,  all  this  suffering  of  wives,  of  children, 


FACTS,    FIGURES,   AND    FAIR    INFERENCES. 

of  parents,  is  unquestionably  chargeable  to  the  DEMOCRATIC 
PARTY  ;  and,  with  this  last  thought,  ask  yourself  the  ques 
tion,  What  should  be  thought  of — what  should  be  the  fate 
of — a  party  guilty  of  such  unparalleled  wickedness  ? 

Of  course,  to  this  last  question  there  could  be  but  one 
answer,  and  yet  the  party  feebly  lives  !  Why  it  lives — 
for  what  purpose  it  lives — would  be  the  next  question 
%hich  would  naturally  arise  with  every  searcher  after 
truth.  To  these  inquiries  we  will  try  to  give  an  answer, 
not  an  opinion  merely,  but  an  answer  founded  upon  ac 
credited  history,  as  have  been  all  the  answers  heretofore 
given. 

It  is  well  known  to  every  student  of  history  that,  as 
far  back  as  1817,  the  leading  sovereigns  and  princes  of 
Europe,  in  their  solemn  conclaves  and  secret  treaties  with 
each  other,  formed  the  determination  to  subvert  the  liberties 
of  the  United  States.  Much  of  what  was  said  and  done  at 
that  time  leaked  out,  and  was  duly  communicated  by  our 
ministers  and  consuls  abroad  to  the  general  government; 
but  so  conscious  was  our  government  of  its  own  strength 
in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  that  all  such  threats  passed 
them  by  like  the  idle  wind.  When,  however,  the  Duke 
of  Richmond  died  in  Montreal  in  1819 — a  man  whom 
everybody  knew  to  be  a  sagacious  and  wise  statesman, 
and  whose  many  high  employments  had  made  him  in 
timate  with  all  the  sovereigns  and  politics  of  Europe,  and 
whose  deep  personal  interests  at  stake  gave  to  his  opin 
ions  immense  weight — and  when  he  declared,  a  short  time 
before  his  death,  that  "  The  surplus  population  of  Europe, 
when  not  wanted  for  the  armies  and  navies  of  their  own 
land,  would  be  permitted  to  flock  here,  and  would  be 
entitled  to  vote ;  and,  mingling  in  the  elections  without  a 
knowledge  or  a  love  of  the  laws,  or  even  the  language, 
of  the  country,  will  be  tools  for  demagogues,  and  create  a 
disturbing  influence,  which  the  government  cannot  with- 
25* 


294     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

stand;"  and  when  to  this  he  added,  "I  have  conversed 
with  many  of  the  princes  and  sovereigns  of  Europe,  par 
ticularly  with  George  III.  and  Louis  XVIII.,  and  they 
have  unanimously  expressed  these  opinions  relative  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  their  determi 
nation  to  subvert  if — when,  we  say,  these  were  published 
and  became  generally  known  shortly  after  his  death,  they 
did  for  a  little  while  create  some  excitement,  and  both 
government  officials  and  the  people  had  something  to  say 
about  these  statements ;  but  such  was  the  confidence  felt 
in  our  own  strength,  that  the  words  of  the  Duke  were 
soon  forgotten,  and  were  laid  away  with  the  "  mouldering 
past." 

Only  three  years  thereafter  (in  A.  D.  1822)  the  great 
powers  of  Europe  held  a  congress  at  Vienna,  and  among 
the  conclusions  then  and  there  reached,  and  which  formed 
a  part  of  their  treaty  stipulations,  the  two  following  cannot 
but  strike  Americans  with  great  force  : 

"ARTICLE  I.  The  high  contracting  powers  being  con 
vinced  that  the  system  of  representative  governments  is 
equally  as  incompatible  with  monarchical  principles,  as 
the  maxim  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  with  the  divine 
right  of  kings,  ENGAGE  MUTUALLY,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  to  use  all  their  efforts  to  put  an  end  to  the  system 
of  representative  governments  in  Europe,  and  to  prevent 
its  being  introduced  into  those  countries  where  it  is  not 
known. 

"ARTICLE  II.  As  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  liberty 
of  the  press  is  the  most  powerful  means  used  by  the  pre 
tended  supporters  of  the  rights  of  nations  to  the  detri 
ment  of  those  princes,  the  high  contracting  powers 
PROMISE  RECIPROCALLY  to  adopt  all  proper  means  to 
suppress  it." 

The  representatives  of  this  government  in  Europe  got 
hold  of  these  articles  soon  after,  and  duly  communicated 


FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES. 

them  to  the  State  Department  at  Washington;  and  the 
newspapers  of  this  country  also  got  hold  of  them,  and 
for  awhile  had  considerable  to  say  about  them ;  but  ere 
long  the  excitement  of  both  government  and  people  died 
out,  and  things  went  on  in  their  usual  way.  How  many 
times  since  then  the  powers  of  Europe  have  met  in  secret 
conclave  and  reaffirmed  what  they  then  said,  and  adopted 
secret  measures  whereby  to  carry  out  these  resolves,  is 
not  generally  known,  for  the  reason  that  the  excitement 
following  their  first  promulgation  gave  them  warning  that 
whatever  they  said  or  did  in  that  direction  thereafter 
had  better  be  with  closed  doors,  and  under  the  most 
sacred  pledges  of  profound  secrecy. 

The  congress  at  Vienna  was  held  soon  after  they  had 
lodged  the  First  Napoleon  safely  at  St.  Helena,  and  when 
all  the  world  seemed  to  be  applauding  them  for  the  act, 
and  hence  their  outspoken  boldness  in  denouncing  rep- 
resentative  forms  of  government  and  the  liberty  of  the  press. 
Indeed,  in  view  of  what  they  had  all  just  witnessed,  and 
some  of  them  severely  felt,  it  was  not  at  all  unnatural 
that  they  should  have  adopted  the  two  articles  quoted ; 
and  that  they  should  have  ever  since  felt  that  there  was 
an  irrepressible  conflict  between  the  "divine  right  of  kings" 
and  representative  forms  of  government — between  the 
absolute  rule  of  kings  and  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and 
that  one  or  the  other  must  eventually  supersede  the 
other.  Hence,  with  them  it  became  a  question  of  self- 
preservation — the  very  first  law  of  nature — and  under 
such  circumstances  it  was  not  at  all  wonderful  that  they 
resolved  just  as  they  did. 

They  had  recently  witnessed  the  final  act  of  a  French 
drama  and  tragedy  combined — the  French  Revolution, 
and  the  career  of  Napoleon  as  a  consequence  thereof — 
which  they  regarded  as  results  of  a  representative  form 
of  government  and  of  the  liberty  of  the  press ;  but  which 


296     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

were  results  rather  of  irresponsible  personal  government 
and  license  of  the  press.  They  had  seen  or  read  of  the 
assembling  of  a  French  parliament  that  had  refused  to 
register  the  royal  edicts ;  they  had  witnessed  or  read  of 
the  disputes  between  the  king  and  parliament,  and  the 
death  soon  after  of  Louis  XV. ;  from  thence  they  had 
observed  the  spread  of  liberal  opinions  and  the  accession 
of  Louis  XVI.  to  the  throne  of  France ;  next,  they  had 
seen  or  read  of  the  calling  together  of  the  States-General, 
and  how  they,  soon  after  assembling,  had  assumed  the 
name  of  the  "  National  Assembly ; "  they  knew  of  the 
dismissal  of  Neckar ;  the  destruction  of  the  Bastile ;  the 
abolishment  of  the  privileges  of  the  nobles  and  clergy, 
and  of  the  first  insult  offered  to  the  king  and  royal 
family;  of  Robespierre's  government  and  the  dreadful 
disorders  accompanying  it ;  of  Lafayette's  resignation ; 
of  the  trial  and  execution  of  Louis  XVI.  and  of  his  queen, 
Marie  Antoinette,  and  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans ;  of  the 
Convention's  abjuration  of  the  Catholic  religion  and  sub 
stitution  of  reason  in  its  place ;  of  the  abolition  of  the 
Sabbath ;  of  the  tens  of  thousands  beheaded,  or  other 
wise  slaughtered,  in  Paris ;  of  how  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
had  finally  appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  for  a  while 
seemed  to  still  the  troubled  waters ;  but  how  he  erelong 
not  only  usurped  the  crown,  but  commenced  war  upon 
almost  every  nation  of  Europe ;  how  in  a  hundred  battles 
fought  by  him,  at  Austerlitz  and  elsewhere,  he  had  been 
successful  in  almost  every  one ;  how  he  had  finally  in 
vaded  Russia  and  thus  defeated  himself;  how  he  was 
afterwards  made  to  resign  and  sent  in  banishment  to 
Elba;  how  he  had  again  reappeared  in  France  and  re 
sumed  power;  how  all  the  allied  powers  of  Europe  then 
determined  upon  his  destruction;  how  he  was  defeated 
at  the  battle  of  Waterloo ;  how  he  afterwards  surrendered 
himself  into  the  hands  of  the  English ;  and  how,  on  the 


FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES. 

1 7th  of  October,  1815,  he  was  landed  at  St.  Helena  a  pris 
oner  of  war. 

All  this  they  knew,  and  all  this  they  set  down  as  the 
natural  results  of  a  representative  form  of  government  and 
the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  hence  it  was  that  the  first  two 
articles  of  the  treaty,  from  which  we  have  heretofore 
quoted,  were  specially  aimed  against  them ;  and  a  solemn 
pledge  made,  each  to  the  other,  that  they  MUST  BE  DE 
STROYED.  Of  course,  no  mention  was  made  in  that  treaty 
of  the  United  States ;  for  to  have  done  so  would  have 
been  virtually  a  declaration  of  war ;  but  as  it  was  then 
generally  believed  among  the  sovereigns  and  princes  of 
Europe  that  the  French  Revolution  of  1789  was  a  natu 
ral  outgrowth  from  the  American  Revolution  of  1776,  and 
that  Lafayette  was  at  the  bottom  of  it  all — having  imbibed 
the  ideas  from  George  Washington,  John  Adams,  John 
Hancock,  and  other  revolutionists  of  America, — the  in 
ference  is  plain  and  unmistakable  that  those  two  articles 
were  aimed  at  the  United  States,  and  that  the  word  "  Eu 
rope  " — where  it  reads  they  "  engage  mutually ',  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  to  use  all  their  efforts  to  put  an  end  to  the 
system  of  representative  governments  in  Europe" — was  only 
meant  as  a  blinder. 

But,  it  may  next  be  asked,  allowing  all  this  to  be  so, 
have  they  been  doing  anything  since  that  time  whereby 
to  carry  out  any  such  intention  ? 

To  this  inquiry,  we  answer  yes,  and  will  now  proceed 
to  show,  briefly  but  unmistakably,  how  they  have  been 
carrying  out  such  intentions ;  and  this,  too,  comes  legiti 
mately  under  the  head  of  "  SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  RE 
BELLION,  NOW  REVEALED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME,"  since  no 
one,  to  our  knowledge,  has  ever  heretofore  shown  the 
close  relationship  and  unity  of  purpose  between  these 
same  European  governments  and  the  Democratic  party 
of  the  United  States ;  and  how,  in  the  late  rebellion  (as 


298     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

in  many  instances  before  that  time),  they  joined  hands  to 
destroy  this  government,  and  to  break  down  the  liberty  of  the 
press. 

The  first  two  political  parties  in  the  United  States  were 
known  as  Federal  and  Republican.  In  1800,  John  Adams 
was  the  candidate  of  the  Federalists  for  a  second  presiden 
tial  term,  and  Thomas  Jefferson  the  candidate  of  the  Re 
publicans.  Jefferson  was  elected,  and  took  his  seat  as 
President  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1801.  After  a  time,  these  two  names  gave  way  to  Whig' 
and  Democratic.  These  continued  until  the  name  Repub 
lican  took  the  place  of  Whig,  in  1856-60.  In  its  earlier 
days  the  Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  was  as  pure  and 
patriotic  as  any  party  that  ever  existed  in  this  or  any 
other  country ;  but  when  the  question  of  "  Protection  to 
Home  Industry"  (of  which  Henry  Clay  was  the  leading 
champion  in  his  time)  became  a  prime  question  in  Amer 
ican  politics;  and  when,  because  that  this  question  in 
volved  the  interests  of  European  capitalists  and  manu 
facturers,  Augustus  Belmont,  of  New  York  city  (a 
European  by  birth,  a  Jew,  and  the  agent  in  this  country 
of  the  Rothschilds',  the  great  Jew  banking-house  of  Eu 
rope,  to  whom  almost  every  sovereign  in  Europe  was 
indebted  for  loans),  became  the  Chairman  of  the  National 
Democratic  Executive  Committee — from  that  moment  the 
Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  became  as  completely  in  the 
interests  of  European  sovereigns,  capitalists,  and  manu 
facturers,  as  though  every  member  of  the  party,  as  well 
as  its  head  and  front,  had  been  born  a  European.  We 
are  not,  of  course,  attempting  to  write  a  history  of  par 
ties.  To  do  so  would  require  a  volume  of  itself,  and  a 
large  one  at  that.  We  have  only  made  this  running  sketch 
that  those  not  familiar  with  general  history  may  readily 
see  and  understand  the  unmistakable  historical  relationship 
which  exists,  and  which  has  existed  for  some  forty  years 


FACTS,    FIGURES,    AND    FAIR    INFERENCES.      299 

past,  between  the  Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  and  Eu 
ropean  governments,  European  capitalists,  and  European 
manufacturers. 

With  this  fact  in  mind,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why 
ninety  out  of  every  one  hundred  European  emigrants 
who  come  to  this  country  attach  themselves  to  the 
Democratic  party;  easy  to  understand  why  the  entire 
influence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  (which  is  the 
church  of  nine-tenths  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe) 
should  be  thrown  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  party ; 
easy  to  understand  why  more  than  ninety-five  out  of 
every  one  hundred  Jews  who  come  to  this  country 
from  Europe  attach  themselves  to  the  Democratic  party ; 
and  easy  to  understand  why,  in  the  late  rebellion,  the 
Democratic  party,  as  a  party  y  cooperated  with  English 
lords,  with  English  capitalists,  and  with  English  manu 
facturers  (as  shown  in  previous  chapters  of  this  volume), 
in  trying  to  break  down  this  government,  and  establish 
a  slavcocracy  in  its  stead — the  leaders  (not  the  masses) 
well  knowing  that  this  would  soon  give  way  to  a  yet  more 
concentrated  form  of  government  in  order  to  hold  their 
slaves  in  subjection — either  a  landed  and  family  aristoc 
racy,  like  that  of  England,  or  an  absolute  monarchy,  like 
that  of  Austria,  in  either  of  which  cases  a  representative 
or  republican  form  of  government  and  the  liberty  of  the 
press  would  have  been  effectually  and  forever  suppressed. 

The  answer,  then,  to  the  two  questions,  Why  it  lives  ? 
For  what  purpose  it  lives?  are,  to  the  first,  Because  of  the 
additions  made  to  the  party  from  year  to  year  from  for 
eign  emigration ;  and  to  the  second  the  answer  is,  For 
the  purpose  of  playing  into  the  hands  of  European  sover 
eigns,  European  capitalists,  and  European  manufacturers, 
with  a  view  to  set  aside  a  representative  form  of  govern 
ment,  and  destroy  the  liberty  of  the  press  in  this  country; 
and  these  answers  we  give,  it  will  be  observed,  not  from 


300     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

a  political,  but  from  a  historical,  stand-point — facts  which 
cannot  be  controverted,  and  deductions  from  those  facts 
as  natural  and  as  undeniable  as  that  we  know  arsenic  to  be 
a  poison,  because  it  invariably  kills  when  taken  in  certain 
doses.  And  that  the  Democratic  party,  as  a  party,  is  as 
deadly  a  poison  as  arsenic  we  know  to  be  true,  because  it 
has  killed  its  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  than  which 
we  want  no  other  or  better  proof  than  is  furnished  by  the 
preceding  chapters  of  this  volume. 


302 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

WHY  THE  SOUTH  HAS  NOT  DENOUNCED  THE  DEMO 
CRATIC  PARTY— WHAT  KEEPS  THE  PARTY  ALIVE  — 
WHAT  THE  FINAL  END  OF  THIS  REPUBLIC. 

THREE  more  questions,  please,  and  then  I  will  not 
trouble  you  more.  What  you  have  already  said 
seems  to  be  true,  and  yet  so  new  and  so  strange  are  these 
revelations  to  my  ears — stranger  than  any  fiction  I  ever 
read  in  the  works  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  or  others — that  had 
you  not  substantiated  each  proposition  with  arguments 
drawn  from  antecedent  probability,  from  sign,  and  from 
example,  I  could  scarcely  have  believed  them.  But  three 
queries  yet  remain  in  my  mind.  Allowing  all  that  you 
have  said  to  be  veritable  history,  how  comes  it  that  the 
South  has  not  denounced  the  Democratic  party  for  its 
perfidy  in  making  promises  which  it  never  fulfilled? 
How  comes  it  that,  with  such  a  weight  of  sin  upon  it,  the 
party  can  still  be  kept  alive  ?  And,  from  all  your  study 
of  history,  what  deductions  do  you  draw  as  to  the  final 
decline  and  fall — if  such  a  thing  is  to  be — of  this  Re 
public? 

Your  questions  are  plain,  frank,  yet  pointed,  and  I 
will  endeavor  to  answer  each  in  as  plain  and  frank  a 
manner.  First,  as  to  the  truth  of  what  we  have  already 
said,  if  the  statements  and  propositions  related  to  any 
other  than  a  political  subject,  there  would  be  no  more 
doubt  of  their  truthfulness  than  of  any  statement  or  prop 
osition  made  by  Gibbon,  Macaulay,  Bancroft,  or  any 
other  historian.  But  upon  the  two  subjects  of  politics 
and  religion,  men  are  generally  so  set  in  their  opinion 

3°3 


304     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

that  blindness  in  the  one  and  bigotry  in  the  other  seems 
to  be  as  natural  to  the  human  mind  "  as  for  grass  to  be 
green,  or  skies  to  be  blue,  on  bright  clear  days  in  June." 
Nor  are  such  statements  ever  allowed  to  go  unchallenged, 
however  true  they  may  be,  unless  the  parties  have  been 
so  long  dead  and  buried  that  no  sympathy  remains. 
What  Macaulay  says  of  political  parties  and  of  church 
influences  in  his  History  of  England,  is  just  as  true  as  any 
other  part  of  his  admirable  work,  and  yet  the  work  had 
scarcely  made  its  appearance  before  the  most  violent 
epithets  were  hurled  at  him  because  of  these.  Had  Gib 
bon  written  his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  ten 
or  even  five  centuries  earlier,  it  would  have  received  most 
bitter  denunciation  from  all  who  yet  sympathized  with  the 
wrongs  which  Gibbon  pointed  out,  and  even  so  late  as  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  his  work  was  first  published,  it 
did  not  escape  censure.  While  Bancroft  only  wrote  of 
the  long,  long  ago,  in  his  capital  History  of  the  United 
States,  nobody  questioned  his  statements  or  deductions  ; 
but  as  he  approached  nearer  to  the  present,  and  had  of 
necessity  to  say  something  of  the  acts  and  influence  of 
political  parties  and  of  churches,  he  awoke  the  sleeping 
demons — blindness  and  bigotry — and  from  thenceforth 
there  was  more  or  less  growl  whenever  a  new  volume 
appeared.  I  revive  and  mention  these  facts  now,  only  to 
show  you,  my  friend,  that  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  at 
your  inquiries  ;  nor  shall  I  be  surprised  if  the  last  six 
chapters  of  this  volume,  and,  because  of  these,  the  whole 
book,  are  most  violently  and  bitterly  denounced  by  the 
entire  Democratic  press  of  this  country,  and  by  every 
religious  and  political  journal  in  this  country  and  Europe 
whose  special  province  it  is  to  uphold  foreign  religious 
and  political  influence.  With  these  as  introductory  re 
marks,  I  will  now  proceed  to  answer  your  inquiries. 
I.  How  comes  it  that  the  South  has  not  denounced  the 


THE  SOUTH  AND  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY.  305 

Democratic  party  for  its  perfidy  in  making  promises  which 
it  never  fulfilled  ? 

We  have  no  sympathy  now,  and  never  had,  with  rebel 
lion,  as  such ;  and,  while  it  continued,  helped  to  fight  it  as 
best  we  could ;  but  we  had  then,  and  have  now,  a  very 
deep  sympathy  with  those  who  were  blindly  led  to  their 
own  destruction  by  wicked,  designing  men.  To  no  peo 
ple  in  all  of  history  are  the  words  of  our  blessed  Saviour 
more  applicable  than  to  the  people  of  the  South,  when 
he  said,  "  Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  offences  !  for  it  must 
needs  be  that  offences  come ;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom 
the  offence  cometh!" 

We  have  heretofore  spoken  of  Jefferson  Davis,  his 
Cabinet,  and  of  others  with  whom  he  advised,  as  high- 
minded,  honorable  gentlemen.  This  character  they  had 
before  the  war,  maintained  it  during  the  war,  and  such  as 
survived  continued  to  maintain  it  after  the  war.  After  the 
war,  Mr.  Davis  had  but  little  to  say  of  the  events  of  the 
past.  He  preferred  not  to  talk  of  them  at  all,  as  he  often 
said  to  those  who  broached  the  subject,  and  never  would 
talk  of  them  except  to  his  most  confidential  friends.  He 
desired  to  live  a  quiet,  peaceful,  retired,  Christian  life,  in 
the  bosom  of  his  little  family  (and  no  man  ever  had  a 
truer  or  more  faithful  helpmeet  than  Mrs.  Davis  proved 
to  be  to  her  husband),  nor  would  he  allow  himself  to  talk 
of  politics  at  all,  as  before  stated,  except  to  a  very  few. 
From  one  of  these  few  we  have  it,  as  from  Mr.  Davis's  own 
lips,  that  no  one  felt,  nor  could  feel,  more  keenly  than  he 
did,  the  perfidy,  the  meanness,  the  baseness  which  had  been 
practised  upon  the  South  by  certain  leading  Democratic 
politicians  of  the  North ;  and  yet  he  could  not  but  recol 
lect  that  others,  as  they  had  opportunity,  had  aided  him 
and  their  cause  to  the  full  extent  of  their  ability,  and  had 
the  will  to  aid  them  a  thousand  times  more,  if  they  cculd 
have  done  so  with  safety  to  themselves,  personally  and 
26*  U 


306     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

pecuniarily.  This  last  recollection  took  the  keen  edge 
off  the  first,  and  left  a  sort  of  dulcamara — a  bitter-sweet — 
to  rest  upon  his  mind. 

And,  besides  this,  only  a  choice  of  evils  was  left  to 
him  and  his  followers.  Their  own  party  of  Secession 
having  been  destroyed,  only  the  Democratic  and  Repub 
lican  parties  remained.  To  side  with  or  go  into  the 
Republican  party  was  out  of  the  question.  Such  as  did, 
would  be  charged  with,  or  suspected  of,  treachery  by  both 
sides.  To  denounce  and  yet  expect  to  get  into,  or  co 
operate  with,  the  Democratic  party,  was  out  of  the  ques 
tion.  No  one  can  regard  as  a  friend  one  that  curses  him. 
So,  you  see,  they  were  walled  in,  as  it  were,  on  every 
side,  and,  as  a  choice  of  evils,  thought  it  best  to  go  into 
the  Democratic  party — to  which  most  of  them  had  be 
longed  all  their  lives,  previous  to  the  rebellion — to  hold 
their  peace,  and  to  "  wait  for  the  good  time  coming"  which 
the  voice  of  certain  siren  leaders  still  whispered  into 
their  ears.  We  say  this  not  in  a  poetic,  but  in  a  historic 
sense ;  for  we  know  it  to  be  true  that,  after  the  close  of 
the  rebellion,  prominent  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party 
North  said  to  prominent  gentlemen  of  the  South  that  so 
soon  as  they  could  get  the  general  government  once 
again  into  their  own  hands,  all  Southern  claims  upon  the 
government,  because  of  the  war,  should  be  adjusted,  the 
same  as  Northern  claims  had  been ;  all  bonds  issued  by 
the  Confederate  government  during  the  war  should  be 
placed  upon  precisely  the  same  footing  as  the  bonds 
issued  by  the  United  States  government  during  the  same 
period;  and  that  slavery  should  be  restored  as  it  was  be 
fore  the  war,  or  those  who  had  owned  slaves,  or  their 
legal  representatives,  should  be  paid  full  value  for  every 
slave  they  had  lost.  When  it  was  said  to  them  that  to 
do  all  this  would  require  several  alterations  in  the  United 
States  Constitution  as  it  now  stands,  their  ready  reply 


THE  SOUTH  AND  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY.   307 

was,  "  Only  put  the  government  into  our  hands,  and 
we  '11  find  means  to  amend  the  Constitution  just  as  readily 
as  to  make  laws,  for  all  needed  purposes.  Your  wrongs 
and  ours  will  find  a  way,  or  make  one''  With  such  as 
surances,  made  over  and  over  again  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  how  could  a  Southern  man  find  it  in  his  heart 
to  denounce  the  Democratic  party,  notwithstanding  all 
the  wrongs  he  had  suffered  from  it  ? 

Some  seventeen  years  have  now  passed  since  the  close 
of  that  war.  As  a  matter  of  history  it  is  well  known  that 
over  ninety-five  per  cent,  of  those  who  had  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  Confederate  cause  went  into  the  Demo 
cratic  party,  and  since  that  time  have  steadily  cooperated 
with  that  party.  A  few,  a  very  few,  could  not,  as  they 
said,  forgive  the  treachery  and  the  wrongs  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  towards  the  South,  and  these  went  into  the 
Republican  party — some  honestly,  no  doubt ;  others,  only 
because  they  thought  it  would  "pay  best" 

Another  answer  to  your  query  would  be,  that  in  not 
denouncing,  but  by  going  into,  the  Democratic  party  a 
very  large  proportion  of  Southern  men  were  only  return 
ing  to  their  first  love.  In  the  days  of  Whiggery  several 
of  the  Southern  States  gave  Whig  majorities ;  but  when 
that  party  died,  because  of  its  coquetting  with  slavery, 
and  the  Republican  party  took  its  place,  the  leading  prin 
ciple  of  which  new  party  was  opposition  to  slavery,  first, 
as  to  its  extension,  and  then  as  to  its  continuance,  nearly 
the  whole  vote  of  the  South  became  Democratic.  This 
was  very  plainly  shown  in  the  vote  cast  for  Franklin 
Pierce  and  Winfield  Scott  (the  last  Whig  candidate),  in 
1852,  when  the  former  received  two  hundred  and  fifty-four 
electoral  votes  and  the  latter  only  forty-two.  Indeed,  it 
was  this  fact,  and  the  great  preponderance  of  Democratic 
votes  at  that  election,  that  gave  to  the  Secessionists  of 
the  South,  and  their  sympathizers,  aiders,  and  abettors  of 


308     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  North,  the  encouragement  which  caused  them  to  inr 
augurate  a  rebellion  in  1860.  It  was  this,  together  with  the 
fact  that  out  of  the  thirty-two  preceding  years — from  the 
election  of  Jackson  in  1828  to  that  of  Lincoln  in  1860 — 
the  Democrats  had  held  the  power  twenty-four  years  and 
the  Whigs  only  eight.  They  had  grown  to  look  upon  the 
Democratic  power  as  invincible,  and  their  European  coad 
jutors  had  been  made  to  believe  that  the  time  had  finally 
come  when  the  hated  representative  form  of  the  United 
States  government  could  be  changed  into  a  slaveocracy, 
then  into  an  aristocracy,  and  then  into  a  kingly  form  of 
government ;  while  a  censorship  could  be  placed  upon  the 
press  so  effectual,  that  from  thenceforth  it  could  never  do 
European  sovereignties  or  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
any  harm.  Those  who  only  saw  the  outside  of  the  late 
rebellion  supposed  that  it  had  its  incipiency  in  1860, 
whereas  those  who  knew  of  its  inside  workings  (as  we  all 
know  now),  knew  that  preparations  had  been  going  on  for 
eight  years  previous,  and  that  both  Frankjin  Pierce  and 
James  Buchanan,  from  1852  to  1860,  had  only  been  used 
as  tools  or  instruments  by  which  to  forward  these  prepa 
rations.  The  result  of  the  Presidential  vote  in  1856  only 
made  those  in  the  secret  of  the  secession  movement  (both 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe)  the  more  determined  to 
strike  the  blow  in  1860;  for  they  saw  by  that  vote  that, 
while  their  candidate,  Buchanan,  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  fifty-two  electoral  votes  (Buchanan  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four,  Fremont  et  al.  one  hundred  and  twenty-two), 
yet  the  popular  vote  stood  Buchanan  1,838,169,  Fremont 
et  al.  2,215,498,  being  really  against  their  candidate,  on 
the  popular  vote,  to  the  extent  of  377,329  votes.  This 
strange  result  was  owing  to  the  fact  that,  while  all  the 
Southern  States  voted  for  their  candidate,  and  several 
Northern  States  as  well,  they  were  all  by  small  majorities ; 
whereas  such  of  the  Northern  States  as  voted  for  Fremont 


THE  SOUTH  AND  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY.   309 

and  others  did  so  by  large  majorities.  Had  they  delayed 
the  strike  another  four  years,  it  would  have  been  forever 
too  late. 

So  soon  as  the  secret  commenced  to  ooze  out  among 
the  masses,  it  caused  no  little  commotion  in  the  Demo 
cratic  party  itself,  and  when  they  came  to  name  presiden 
tial  candidates  in  1860,  while  those  in  the  secret  boldly 
put  forward  John  C.  Breckenridge  (who  afterwards  became 
a  rebel  general  in  their  army),  the  more  timid  and  doubt 
ing  named  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  while  those  who  were 
yet  more  frightened  at  the  prospect  of  coming  events 
named  Bell  of  Tennessee.  The  Republicans  named 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  result  showed  one  hundred  and 
eighty  electoral  votes  for  Lincoln  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  for  all  the  others  (again  the  South  voting 
solid  against  the  Republican  nominee),  while  the  popular 
vote  showed  1,866,352  for  Lincoln,  and  2,810,501  for  all 
the  others.  The  South  by  that  time  became  so  thoroughly 
identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  Democratic 
party  with  the  South,  that,  like  man  and  wife,  their  interests 
were  thenceforth  inseparable,  while  the  groomsman  and 
bridesmaid  (fitly  represented  by  European  sovereignty 
and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church)  stood  at  their  sides,  or 
close  behind,  tapping  them  on  the  back. 

And  just  here  let  us  say,  lest  we  may  be  misunderstood, 
that  when  we  speak  of  the  Catholic  Church  it  is  not  by 
way  of  disparagement,  so  far  as  their  religion  is  concerned, 
but  only  and  purely  as  one  of  the  instruments  by  which 
European  sovereigns  hope  to  work  the  downfall  of  this 
nation,  or  rather  of  the  representative  form  of  its  govern 
ment  and  the  liberty  of  its  press.  Against  the  religious 
faith  and  the  religious  zeal  of  the  Catholics  we  have  not 
a  word  to  say,  though  ourself  a  Protestant.  History,  as 
well  as  our  own  eyes  and  ears  while  travelling  in  Europe, 
has  proven  to  us  that  with  every  ounce  of  corruption  to 


310     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

be  found  in  that  Church  there  is  a  full  pound  of  virtue, 
and,  better  than  this,  so  far  as  we  know,  cannot  be  said 
of  any  other  church  organization.  We  cannot  forget,  nor 
overlook  the  facts,  that  while  Tetzel  was  peddling  indul 
gences  and  Luther  was  thundering  against  them,  thousands 
of  Sisters  of  Charity  (God  bless  them ! )  were  waiting 
upon  the  sick  and  dying  in  Paris  and  elsewhere,  and  doing 
what  they  could  to  make  life  tolerable  and  death  endur 
able  to  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands ;  that  while 
scores  were  being  tortured  and  burned  by  the  Spanish 
inquisition,  thousands  of  faithful  Catholic  missionaries,  in 
all  parts  of  the  world,  were  enlightening  their  fellow-men, 
easing  their  burdens  of  life,  and  pointing  them  to  a  hope 
beyond  the  grave.  Nor  can  we  overlook  the  fact  that 
other  religious  bodies  have  been  just  as  bigoted  and  just 
as  intolerant  as  the  Catholics,  whenever  they  have  had 
the  power  and  opportunity;  that  John  Calvin  and  his  fol 
lowers  burned  Servetus,  at  Geneva,  with  just  as  little  com 
punction  of  conscience  as  the  Catholics  burned  Huss  at 
Constance;  that  Luther  and  his  coadjutors  granted  to 
Philip,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  a  dispensation  for 
polygamy,  rather  than  lose  his  support,  while  Clement 
VII.,  Pope  of  Rome,  refused  a  like  dispensation  to  Henry 
VIII.,  King  of  England;  that  this  same  Henry,  who  was 
acknowledged  at  the  time  as  the  head  of  the  Church  of 
England,  divorced  two  wives  and  beheaded  two  others ; 
and  that  even  here,  in  our  own  New  England,  when  the 
Puritans  had  absolute  power,  they  ordered  delicate  Quaker 
women  tied  to  a  cart-tail  and  whipped  upon  the  bare 
back,  and  others  hung,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they 
chose  to  worship  God  in  a  different  way  from  themselves. 
A  somewhat  careful  study  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  all 
religions,  and  of  all  religious  sects,  convinces  us  that 
bigotry,  intolerance,  and  persecution  are  alike  common  to 


THE  SOUTH  AND  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY.  311 

all  whenever  they  hold  absolute  power,  and  that  in  this  re 
spect  the  Catholics  are  no  worse  than  others. 

And  yet,  while  saying  all  this,  no  less  in  justice  to  our- 
self  than  to  them,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that 
Catholicism  is  the  religion  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
sovereigns  and  princes  of  Europe ;  that  absolutism  (and 
consequent  opposition  to  anything  like  a  representative 
form  of  government,  or  the  liberty  of  the  press)  is  one  of 
its  cardinal  principles  of  faith  and  practice ;  that,  being 
so  largely  supported  by  European  sovereigns,  it  would 
naturally  be  disposed  to  aid  them  in  any  way  within  its 
power ;  and  that  to  aid  them  in  overthrowing  our  repre 
sentative  form  of  government,  and  our  boasted  liberty  of 
the  press,  would  be  no  violation  of  their  own  cherished 
principles,  but  in  exact  accordance  therewith.  Hence  in 
all  our  calculations  as  to  influence  and  poiver,  without 
having  the  least  prejudice  against  the  religion  of  the 
Catholics,  we  must  invariably  put  them  down  as  in  favor 
of  absolutism,  and  as  only  using,  in  this  country,  the 
name  democracy  (which  means  the  reverse  of  absolu 
tism)  as  a  cloak  to  their  real  sentiments.  Of  course  in 
this  we  only  refer  to  the  bishops,  priests,  and  few  educated 
laymen  of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  for,  as  to  the  great  mass 
of  its  adherents,  they  merely  follow  the  dictum  of  others, 
without  knowing  or  caring  about  the  meaning  of  names, 
and  would  vote  under  any  name,  or  for  anybody,  if  only 
told  to  do  so  by  their  church  officials. 

It  is  a  matter  of  public  notoriety — indeed  of  public 
record — that,  under  the  name  of  "  Societies  for  the  Propa 
gation  of  the  Faith,"  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  their 
more  wealthy  subjects,  have  sent,  and  are  every  year 
sending,  large  sums  of  money  to  this  country.  A  single 
one  of  these  societies  at  Lyons,  France  (as  published  in 
their  own  reports  at  the  time),  sent  in  this  way  $65,438 
in  1839;  $163,000  in  1840;  $177,000  in  1842;  $207,218 


312     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

in  1843  ;  while  correspondingly  large  sums  were  doubtless 
sent  from  Spain,  Austria,  and  other  European  countries 
during  the  same  years;  and  from  that  time  until  the 
present  every  year.  A  portion  of  this  was  and  is  un 
doubtedly  contributed  from  the  purest  of  religious  motives  ; 
but  by  far  the  larger  portion,  only  with  the  view  to  sub 
vert  our  representative  form  of  government  and  the  liberty 
of  the  press.  All  these  are  matters  of  history \  and  as  such 
come  legitimately  within  the  province  of  any  historian, 
and  of  any  reader,  who,  aside  from  religious  or  political 
prejudices,  would  carefully  weigh  facts  with  a  view  to 
arrive  at  undoubted  conclusions. 

And  thus,  my  friend  (the  reader),  have  we,  by  reciting 
historic  facts,  and  through  the  processes  of  deduction  and 
induction,  shown  you  very  plainly  "  How  it  comes  that 
the  South  has  not  denounced  the  Democratic  party  for 
its  perfidy  in  making  promises  which  it  never  fulfilled;" 
and  thus,  my  friend,  I  have,  I  think,  fully  and  fairly  an 
swered  your  first  inquiry. 


314 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

II.— HOW  COMES  IT  THAT  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY, 
WITH  SUCH  A  WEIGHT  OF  SIN  UPON  IT,  CAN  STILL  BE 
KEPT  ALIVE? 

TO  answer  this  question,  we  would  first  direct  your 
attention  to  the  United  States  census  returns  for  the 
years  1850,  '60,  '70,  and  '80.  We  only  go  back  four  de 
cades,  for  from  these  we  can  draw  correct  conclusions 
just  as  well  as  if  we  commenced  at  an  earlier  date. 
These  returns  show  that  for  the  ten  years  preceding  1850 
there  arrived  in  this  country  from  Europe  1,713,251  per 
sons;  for  the  ten  preceding  1860,  2,598,214;  for  the  ten 
preceding  1870,  2,491,209;  and  for  the  ten  preceding 
1880,  2,742,137.  Of  those  that  came  from  Catholic 
countries,  95  out  of  every  100  went  into  the  Democratic 
party.  Of  those  that  came  from  Germany  and  other 
Protestant  countries,  probably  about  one-half  went  into 
the  Democratic  party ;  for  even  though  they  came  from 
nominally  Protestant  countries,  fully  one-half  of  the  emi 
grants  from  those  countries  are  Catholics.  Of  those  who 
are  Protestants  in  Europe,  but  few  join  the  Democratic 
party  after  reaching  this  country.  Estimating  that  one 
out  of  every  five  of  these  emigrants  becomes  a  voter,  and 
that  85  out  of  every  100  of  these  voters  joined  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  we  should  have  as  added  to  that  party 
from  naturalization  alone,  for  the  ten  years  preceding 
1850,  290,753  votes  ;  for  the  ten  preceding  1860,  431,696 
votes;  for  the  ten  preceding  1870,  424,505  votes;  and 
for  the  ten  preceding  1880,  466,164  votes.  Meanwhile, 
while  these  immense  additions  are  being  made  from  year 

315 


3l6     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

to  year  to  the  Democratic  party  from  naturalization,  it 
loses  large  numbers  every  year  from  increased  civiliza 
tion.  The  Whig  party  was,  and  the  Republican  party  is, 
the  party  of  enlightenment ;  and  as  foreigners,  and  es 
pecially  their  children,  become  more  enlightened  as  to 
the  advantages  of  a  republican  or  representative  form  of 
government — more  and  more  enlightened  as  to  the  ad 
vantages  of  a  free  press — they  leave  that  party  and  go 
into  the  Republican;  or,  what  is  more  frequent,  their 
children,  having  been  educated  in  our  free  schools,  learn 
to  love  freedom  of  thought  as  well  as  of  action,  and,  on 
becoming  of  age,  join  the  Republican  party,  and  some  of 
them  join  Protestant  churches.  But  for  this  retroactive 
process,  which  is  constantly  going  on,  this  country  long  ago 
•would  have  been  completely  under  foreign  influence,  and 
we  never  should  have  been  permitted  to  have  celebrated 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  American  independence. 

Now  let  us  take  a  retrospective  view  and  see  what  has 
been  the  practical  outcome  of  these  two  antagonistic 
principles.  In  1852  the  number  of  Democratic  votes  cast 
for  President  was  1,601,474;  number  of  Whig  votes, 
1,542,403;  total,  3,143,877;  population  of  the  United 
States  in  1850,  23,191,876.  In  1860,  number  of  Repub 
lican  votes,  1,866,352;  Democratic  and  all  others,  2,810,- 
501;  total,  4,676,853;  population  that  year,  31,443,321. 
In  1872,  number  of  Republican  votes,  3,597,070;  Demo 
cratic,  2,834,078;  total,  6,431,148;  population  for  1870, 
38,558,371.  In  1880,  number  of  Republican  votes,  4,450,- 
921;  Democratic,  4,447,888  ;  total,  8,898,809;  population 
for  1880,  50,155,783. 

The  immigration  for  the  last  few  years  has  been  ex 
ceedingly  large,  reaching  the  enormous  figures  of  457,257 
for  1880,  and  669,431  for  1 88 1.  Among  these  were  2,600 
Jews  from  Russia,  of  whom  it  is  announced  there  are 
10,000  more  to  come  soon,  and  for  whom  contract  has 


SIN    OF    THE    DEMOCRATIC    PARTY.  317 

already  been  made  with  the  Hamburg  line  of  steamers. 
Of  these  it  is  safe  to  calculate  that  95  out  of  every  100 
voters  will  go  into  the  Democratic  party. 

As  showing  the  effect  of  the  retroactive  process  here 
tofore  spoken  of,  whereby  enlightenment  turns  Catholics 
into  Protestants  and  Democrats  into  Republicans,  it  may 
be  stated  (as  census  returns  show)  that  while  in  1801 
there  were  in  the  two  Protestant  countries  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  about  6,000,000  Roman  Catholics 
to  about  15,000,000  Protestants,  or  about  one  to  two  and 
a-half,  in  1880  there  were  about  12,000,000  Catholics  to 
about  74,000,000  Protestants,  or  about  one  to  six.  In 
using  the  word  enlightenment  in  connection  with  the  words 
Republican  and  Protestant,  we  would  by  no  means  have 
it  inferred  that  all  Democrats  and  all  Catholics  are  igno 
rant.  In  both  are  to  be  found  men  of  the  highest  intel 
ligence  and  of  the  most  exalted  character ;  but  these  form 
the  exception  rather  than  the  rule — the  leading  few,  who 
have  their  own  purposes  to  subserve,  rather  than  the  fol 
lowing  many,  with  whom  party  is  madness  only  for  the 
benefit  of  the  few. 

Now,  my  friend  (the  reader),  you  can  begin  to  see,  can 
you  not,  why  it  is  that  the  Democratic  party,  notwith 
standing  all  its  sins,  has  still  been  kept  alive  ?  But  yet 
there  is  one  more  item  to  be  added  to  account  for  its  con 
tinued  existence :  namely,  that  it  is  not  only  supplied 
with  recruits  from  Europe,  but  with  money  as  well.  We 
have  heretofore  shown  from  official  sources  how  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  have  been,  and  are 
constantly  being  sent  from  Europe  to  this  country  to 
"propagate"  the  Catholic  faith — which  is,  indeed,  but 
another  name  and  another  way  of  propagating  the  Demo 
cratic  party — and  but  for  the  extreme  secrecy  of  their 
movements,  we  might  show  just  as  plainly  that  other 
hundreds  of  thousands  are  sent  here  at  every  Presiden- 


318     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

tial  election  by  European  capitalists,  European  manu 
facturers,  and  European  sovereigns,  with  a  view  to  in 
fluence  our  elections.  Bribery  at  elections  being  made 
a  misdemeanor  in  nearly  all  the  States,  movements  of 
this  character  have  to  be  conducted  with  extreme  se 
crecy  ;  but  that  the  thing  has  been  done  for  the  past  forty 
years  (ever  since  the  inauguration  of  the  protective  system 
by  Henry  Clay),  and  is  still  being  done,  there  is  not 
a  shadow  of  doubt ;  nor  is  there  a  doubt  that  this  is 
another  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Democratic  party 
is  kept  alive.  A  single  Hartford  convention  killed  the 
Federal  party;  a  single  set  of  pro-slavery  resolutions, 
adopted  by  a  National  convention,  killed  the  Whig  party ; 
and  the  part  which  the  Democratic  party  took  in  the  late 
rebellion  would  have  killed  it  so  effectually  that  no  res 
urrection  could  have  ever  reached  it,  but  for  the  support 
it  has  had,  and  still  has,  from  European  powers,  through 
emigration  and  through  the  Catholic  Church,  and  with 
the  once  avowed,  and  now  no  less  steadily  held,  object 
of  overthrowing  our  representative  form  of  government,  and 
of  destroying  the  liberty  of  our  press.  Thus,  my  friend  (the 
reader),  your  second  query  is  answered  beyond,  as  we 
think,  all  possibility  of  successful  contradiction. 


320 


CHAPTER    XX. 

III.— FROM  ALL  YOUR  STUDY  OF  HISTORY,  WHAT  DE 
DUCTIONS  DO  YOU  DRAW  AS  TO  THE  FINAL  DE 
CLINE  AND  FALL,  IF  SUCH  A  THING  IS  EVER  TO 
BE,  OF  THIS  REPUBLIC? 

TO  the  casual  reader,  the  relationship  that  this  question 
bears  to  "  SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION,  NOW  RE 
VEALED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME,"  may  seem  very  obscure, 
but  to  our  mind,  that  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning, 
the  relationship  seems  very  close,  as  our  readers  will  also 
see,  we  think,  before  we  close  the  answer. 

Patrick  Henry,  in  one  of  his  outbursts  of  eloquence, 
said  he  "knew  of  no  way  to  judge  of  the  future  save  by 
the  past."  Taking  this  as  our  guide,  let  us  inquire  some 
what  into  the  history  of  former  republics,  and  see  if  we 
cannot  gather  therefrom  some  probabilities  as  to  the 
future  of  our  own,  and  some  light  by  which  to  guide  our 
own  footsteps  meanwhile.  Our  plan  and  limited  space 
will  only  permit  us  to  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  four — 
Athens,  Sparta,  Thebes,  and  Rome — but  even  from  these 
alone  we  may  learn  some  useful  lessons. 

The  republic  of  Athens  came  into  existence  immedi 
ately  after  the  voluntary  death  of  King  Codrus,  about 
1068  years  before  Christ.  Codrus  having  been  made  to 
believe,  through  an  oracle,  that  if  he  sacrificed  his  own 
life,  his  country  would  be  victorious  over  the  Heraclidae, 
with  whom  they  were  then  engaged  in  war,  disguised 
himself  as  a  peasant,  and,  purposely  quarrelling  with  a 
soldier  of  the  hostile  army,  procured  the  death  he  wished. 
His  sons,  Medon  and  Nileus,  disputed  the  succession  to 

V  321 


322     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  crown ;  and  the  Athenians,  taking  advantage  of  this 
dispute,  determined  to  set  aside  the  crown  altogether, 
and  thenceforth  have  a  representative  or  republican 
form  of  government.  Hence  arose  the  Athenian  Re 
public.  Though  they  abolished  the  title  of  king,  out 
of  the  high  regard  they  had  for  Codrus,  they  appointed 
his  son  Medon  chief  magistrate  for  life,  and  even  made 
the  office  hereditary,  so  that  for  three  hundred  and 
thirty-one  years  thereafter  the  chief  magistrate  con 
tinued  in  that  family.  They  then  abolished  the  perpetual 
archonship,  and  made  the  tenure  of  the  office  ten  years. 
This  term  they  reduced  erelong  to  one  year,  and,  instead 
of  one  archon  or  chief  magistrate,  appointed  nine,  with 
equal  authority.  Meanwhile  their  government  became 
so  purely  democratic  as  to  become  utterly  despotic,  and 
the  tyranny  of  the  mob  was  found  to  be  more  oppressive 
than  the  restraints  of  a  single  ruler.  Then  followed  the 
laws  of  Draco,  which,  because  of  their  severity,  were  said 
to  have  been  "  written  in  blood."  He  made  no  distinc 
tion  of  offences,  but  punished  all  equally  with  death.  He 
weakened  the  authority  of  the  Areopagus,  and  instituted 
a  new  tribunal,  in  which  judges  were  given  almost  unlim 
ited  power,  and  virtually  made  brutes.  The  severity  of 
his  laws  defeated  their  own  object. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  things  when  the  great  law 
maker,  Solon,  appeared  on  the  stage,  five  hundred  and 
ninety-four  years  before  Christ.  The  laws  which  he 
framed  and  gave  the  Athenians  were  not,  as  he  said 
himself,  "  the  best  possible,  but  the  best  which  the  Athe 
nians  were  capable  of  receiving."  To  the  rich  he  gave 
offices  and  dignities ;  to  the  poor  he  gave  the  right  of 
suffrage,  whereby  in  the  framing  of  laws,  the  election  of 
magistrates,  the  making  of  war  or  peace,  the  forming  of 
treaties  and  alliances,  and  in  all  that  regarded  either  re 
ligious  or  civil  policy,  they  should  have  an  equal  voice 


FINAL    DECLINE    OF    THIS    REPUBLIC.  323 

with  the  rich,  and,  being  much  the  greater  in  number, 
their  class  could  overbalance  the  other  three,  though  out 
of  their  class  could  no  nomination  be  made  to  any  office 
of  honor  or  profit.  A  senate  of  four  hundred  members 
held  an  intermediate  place  between  office-holders  and 
the  people,  and  served  as  a  restraint  upon  both.  The 
arbitrary  power  of  the  judges,  as  established  by  Draco, 
Solon  restrained,  and  made  the  court  of  Areopagus  the 
chief  judicial  tribunal,  and  gave  it  also  a  tutorial  power 
over  all  the  youth  of  the  republic.  Instead  of  having  an 
egotistical,  half-educated  state  school  superintendent  to 
do  such  duty  (as  sometimes  found  in  this  country),  this 
court  appointed  masters  and  governors  for  the  youth,  and 
superintended  their  education.  The  Areopagus  also  in 
quired  into  the  life  and  morals  of  all  who  held  offices  in 
the  state,  and  such  as  could  not  stand  the  scrutiny  were 
not  only  incapacitated  for  employ,  but  declared  infamous. 
His  laws  also  prohibited  all  imprisonment  for  debt,  and 
contained  many  other  provisions  in  which  legislators 
have  made  no  improvement  during  the  nearly  two  thou 
sand  five  hundred  years  that  have  passed  since  then. 

Notwithstanding  the  good  laws  of  Solon,  then,  as  now, 
there  were  found  men  to  take  advantage  of  their  pro 
visions  to  gratify  their  own  private  hates.  Thus,  Solon's 
laws  allowed  popular  action  for  most  offences — regarding 
all  offences  as  against  the  "  peace  and  dignity  of  the 
state  " — as  we  do  now ;  but  in  many  cases  advantage  was 
taken  of  this  by  bad  men  to  make  the  most  calumnious 
accusations  against  men  whose  character  until  then  had 
stood  even  above  suspicion.  So  advantage  was  frequently 
taken  of  the  law  of  ostracism  (which  was  only  meant  for 
good),  whereby  some  of  their  very  best  men  were  ban 
ished  from  the  state.  Thus,  when  an  ignorant  citizen 
was  about  to  cast  his  vote  for  the  ostracism  of  Aristides, 
he  was  asked  by  Aristides  himself,  who  chanced  to  be 


324     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

passing  by  at  the  moment,  and  who  was  unknown  toy 
him: 

"  Why,  what  harm,  my  friend,  has  Aristides  done  to 
you?" 

"  None  in  the  world,"  replied  he  ;  "  but  I  hate  to  hear 
everybody  call  him  the  '  Just.'  " 

Thucydides  also,  from  whom  Athens  had  received  the 
most  eminent  services,  was  in  like  manner  banished  by 
ostracism ;  as  likewise  were  Miltiades,  Cimon,  Themis- 
tocles,  Phocion,  and  many  other  of  their  most  eminent 
men.  What  was  meant,  too,  for  religious  freedom  was 
made  to  subserve  (by  those  who  temporarily  had  the 
power)  the  purposes  of  religious  bigotry,  tyranny,  and 
persecution,  until  even  the  renowned  philosopher,  Soc 
rates,  was  made  to  drink  the  fatal  hemlock. 

While  the  great  majority  of  Athenians  were  entirely 
satisfied  with  their  form  of  government;  while  the  masses 
were  equally  jealous  of  their  liberty,  because  liberty  was 
equally  necessary  to  each  for  the  enjoyment  of  his  favor 
ite  scheme  of  life ;  yet  there  were  those  inside  of  the 
republic,  as  well  as  outside,  who  did  not  like  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  who  were  all  the  while  watch 
ing  for  an  opportunity  to  overthrow  it.  Among  these 
was  Pisistratus,  a  man  of  large  wealth,  splendid  talents, 
and  of  great  popularity.  He  aspired  to  sovereign  power, 
and  by  his  artifices  came  so  near  in  obtaining  it,  that 
Solon,  disgusted  at  the  want  of  patriotism  among  his 
countrymen,  and  unable  to  witness  its  degradation,  bade 
adieu  to  Athens,  and  died  in  voluntary  exile.  He — even 
he,  the  great  and  good  Solon — was  made  to  feel  what  it 
was  to  be  "  a  man  without  a  country!'  an<3  chose  to  die  in 
exile  rather  than  to  remain  in  his  native  land,  or  even  to 
look  upon  it  again  in  a  state  of  degradation.  If  the  time 
should  ever  come  (and  God  only  knows  how  soon  it  may 
come !)  when  not  only  one  but  scores,  yea,  hundreds,  of 


FINAL    DECLINE    OF    THIS    REPUBLIC.  325 

American  Solons  should  be  wandering  throughout  the 
world,  without  a  home  and  without  a  country,  because  of 
the  destruction  of  our  representative  form  of  government 
by  European  jealousy  and  Catholic  bigotry,  then,  if  never 
before,  they  and  all  others  will  fully  understand  some 
thing  of  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  Democratic  party 
of  this  country,  of  which  the  late  rebellion  was  the  first 
act  in  the  drama,  and  of  which  its  secret  workings  only 
represented  the  machinations  of  a  hundred  Pisistratuses ! 

But  though  Pisistratus  thus  usurped  power,  and  for  a 
while  played  the  sovereign,  he  was  unable  to  retain  it 
long.  Megacles  and  Lycurgus,  the  chiefs  of  the  Alc- 
maeonidas,  gained  at  length  so  much  strength  as  to  attack 
and  expel  the  usurper  from  Athens.  By  a  stratagem  he 
again  secured  power,  and,  on  dying,  bequeathed  the 
crown  to  his  sons,  Hippias  and  Hipparchus,  but  erelong 
Hipparchus  was  killed,  and  Hippias  dethroned,  and  once 
again  the  republic  prevailed,  and  statues  were  erected  to 
the  honor  of  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton  as  the  authors 
of  their  country's  deliverance  from  tyranny. 

From  thenceforth  there  was  almost  a  constant  warfare 
between  the  political  parties  or  factions  of  the  republic, 
while  jealous  eyes  outside  were  consequently  watching 
an  opportunity  for  its  destruction.  Ambitious  demagogues 
were  constantly  using  the  people  as  their  tools,  but  scarcely 
would  one  obtain  the  chief  magistracy  until  another 
would  pull  him  down — if  not  by  a  vote  of  the  people, 
then  by  faction  or  by  assassination.  Meanwhile  Hippias, 
who  had  been  dethroned,  sought  aid  from  the  king  of 
Persia  to  reinstate  him,  and  thus  brought  a  long  and 
bloody  war  upon  his  own  country.  In  this  war  were  fought 
the  renowned  battles  of  Marathon,  Salamis,  Plateae,  and 
Mycale,  and  the  Greeks  came  off  victorious,  but  at  a  most 
fearful  sacrifice  of  treasure  and  life.  After  this  followed 
the  disunion  among  the  several  Grecian  states — the  seces- 
28 


326     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

sion  of  some — the  coldness  and  indifference  of  others ; 
and  though  the  brilliant  administrations  of  Cimon  and 
Pericles  seemed  to  revive  the  republic  for  awhile,  it  was 
evident  to  all  that  the  seeds  of  death  were  fast  germinating 
and  would  bring  forth  fruit  erelong.  The  Persian  king, 
and  the  sovereigns  of  other  surrounding  countries,  had 
long  felt  deep  jealousy  of  the  Athenian  Republic,  and, 
when  an  excuse  came  for  attacking  it,  they  were  not 
backward  in  availing  themselves  of  the  opportunity.  For 
tunately  for  the  Athenian  Republic  the  attack  made  upon 
them  by  Persia  had  the  effect  to  bring  the  whole  power 
of  the  Spartan  Republic  to  their  aid,  which,  with  such 
other  aid  as  they  received  from  minor  states  of  Greece, 
enabled  them  to  defeat  the  Persians  in  the  end  and  main 
tain  their  own  independence. 

But  a  worse  fate  awaited  them — namely,  a  fight  among 
themselves.  The  mutual  jealousies  that  had  long  existed 
between  Athens  and  Sparta  broke  out  afresh,  and  soon 
terminated  in  an  open  war  between  the  two  republics, 
and  most  of  the  minor  states  of  Greece  took  a  part  in  the 
quarrel.  The  first  declaration  of  hostilities,  however,  was 
compromised  before  they  came  to  actual  conflict ;  but  it 
proved  to  be  only  a  smouldering,  and  not  an  extinguish 
ment,  of  the  fire  that  had  long  burned  in  the  breast  of 
each — a  fire  that  afterwards  broke  forth  in  what  was  known 
as  the  "  Peloponnesian  war,"  and  lasted  twenty-eight 
years.  Our  plan  and  space  will  not  permit  any  details  of 
this.  A  history  of  the  first  twenty-two  years  of  the  war 
was  admirably  written  by  Thucydides,  and  of  the  last  six 
years  by  Xenophon,  to  whom  we  must  refer  the  reader 
who  would  know  its  particulars.  Suffice  it  to  say  here 
that  during  this  long  internecine  war  each  achieved  vic 
tories  and  each  suffered  defeats.  At  one  time  the  Spartans 
so  reduced  Athens  as  to  make  an  entire  change  in  its 
constitution.  The  republic  was  abolished  and  thirty 


FINAL     DECLINE    OF    THIS     REPUBLIC.  327 

governors,  or,  as  the  Greek  historians  style  them,  "thirty 
tyrants"  were  substituted,  whose  power  seems  to  have 
been  absolute,  unless  in  so  far  as  each  was  restrained  by 
the  equally  arbitrary  will  of  his  colleagues.  So  fearful 
and  terrible  was  their  rule,  that  Xenophon  thinks  "a 
greater  number  of  Athenian  citizens  lost  their  lives  by  the 
sentence  of  these  tyrants,  in  the  short  space  of  eight 
months,  than  had  fallen  in  the  whole  twenty-eight  years 
of  the  Peloponnesian  war."  Hundreds  of  the  most  emi 
nent  of  the  Athenian  families  left  their  country  in  despair, 
and  what  remained  were  for  a  time  awed  into  silence, 
and  dumb  with  consternation. 

And  just  here  we  may  pause  to  say  that  precisely  the 
same  kind  of  rule,  and  the  same  kind  of  results,  would 
have  been  witnessed  in  this  country,  had  the  rebellion,  by 
the  aid  of  the  Democratic  party,  succeeded  in  capturing 
Washington  and  in  establishing  their  rule  over  this  coun 
try.  It  is  one  of  the  "  SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION, 
NOW  REVEALED  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME"  (and  our  information 
comes  from  one  who  was  behind  the  scenes  and  knew  all 
about  it,  and  the  first  sixteen  chapters  of  this  volume  en 
tirely  confirm  this  opinion),  that  behind  President  Davis 
and  behind  General  Lee  stood  a  body  of  desperate  men, 
who,  at  one  single  sweep,  would  have  wiped  them  off  the 
chess-board  and  put  others  in  their  stead,  had  they  shown 
the  least  considerate  humanity  in  dealing  with  Northern 
men,  in  case  the  rebellion  had  succeeded.  Not  Abraham 
Lincoln  alone  would  have  fallen  at  the  hands  of  the  as 
sassin  or  hangman,  but  thousands  of  others  throughout 
the  North  would  have  suffered  a  like  fate,  until  the  rule 
of  the  "  thirty  tyrants  "  in  Athens  would  have  been  con 
sidered  but  child's  play  in  comparison  with  the  rule  of 
the  more  than  three  hundred  tyrants  of  this  republic. 
Then  would  have  been  witnessed  here,  as  there,  thousands 
of  the  most  eminent  of  American  families  leaving  their 


328     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

country  in  despair — wandering  they  knew  not  whither — - 
without  a  home ',  and  without  a  country  !  Abraham  Lincoln's 
assassination  was  indeed  done  by  a  half-crazed  Southern 
rebel;  but  who  can  doubt,  after  reading  the  secrets  re 
vealed  in  the  foregoing  pages,  that  the  frenzy  that  fired 
Booth's  brain,  and  the  nerve  that  enabled  him  to  fire  the 
deadly  shot,  came  as  directly  from  the  DEMOCRATIC  party, 
as  a  party,  as  that  the  pistol  itself  was  purchased  by  a 
Democratic  partisan.  All  these  facts  go  hand-in-hand, 
and  there  is  no  separating  one  from  the  others. 

But  we  have  already  occupied  much  more  of  time  and 
space  on  the  Athenian  Republic  than  we  had  intended. 
We  can  only  say,  in  conclusion,  that,  after  the  reign  of 
the  "  thirty  tyrants,"  its  fortunes  were  up  and  down — 
oftener  down  than  up — until  the  battle  of  Chaeronea, 
which  occurred  in  the  year  338  before  Christ,  when  the 
liberties  of  Greece  were  made  to  yield  finally  and  forever 
to  the  stronger  arm  of  the  Macedonian.  The  Athenian 
Republic  had  existed  after  a  fashion — and,  indeed,  much 
of  the  time  it  was  only  "  after  a  fashion  " — for  seven  hun 
dred  and  thirty  years  ;  and  when  it  fell,  there  was  not  so 
much  as  an  empty  shell  left.  Its  internal  dissensions, 
more  than  anything  else,  had  eaten  out  its  vitals;  the 
jealousy  of  surrounding  monarchies  had  been  to  it  a 
constant  source  of  danger,  and  several  times  a  source  of 
great  disaster;  while  for  fully  one-half  of  the  seven  hun- 
dren  and  thirty  years  it  was  rather  a  government  of 
tyranny  than  of  liberty  to  those  who  lived  under  it. 


330 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

OF  SPARTA  AND  ITS  LESSONS. 

QPARTA  was  built  by  Lacedaemon  as  early  as  1487 
O  years  before  Christ;  but  it  did  not  become  a  republic 
until  Lycurgus  remodelled  its  laws,  eight  hundred  and 
eighty-four  years  before  Christ.  Though  a  representative 
form  of  government,  and  therefore  a  republic,  yet  it  was 
so  different  from  any  other  government  that  ever  existed 
before  or  since,  it  may  well  be  called  unique,  singular,  sui 
generis.  Its  citizens,  for  instance,  ate  at  public  tables ;  the 
children  were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  state  rather 
than  to  parents ;  its  money  was  made  of  iron  and  of  such 
weight  that  no  one  man  could  carry  a  hundred  dollars. 
Thus,  and  in  other  ways,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  was 
discouraged — while  instruction  in  the  art  of  war  was 
made  pastime — meat,  drink,  and  sleep,  as  it  were,  to  all  its 
male  inhabitants.  The  labor  of  its  farms,  of  its  shops, 
of  its  merchants  even,  was  all  done  by  slaves ;  while  the 
administration  of  government,  the  learning  how  to  fight, 
and  fighting,  seems  to  have  been  the  principal,  if  not  the 
only,  employment  of  its  free  citizens.  Though  existing 
at  the  same  time  with  the  Athenian  Republic,  and  within 
one  hundred  and  eighty-four  years  as  old,  the  two  gov 
ernments  were  in  no  sense  a  type  of  each  other.  The 
Athenian  found  in  his  taste  for  pleasure  constant  employ 
ment  ;  the  Spartan's  taste  was  only  for  war.  The  arts  of 
Athens  met  with  the  highest  encouragement ;  at  Sparta, 
scarcely  none  at  all.  At  Athens  the  luxury  of  the  rich 
constantly  employed  the  industry  of  the  poor ;  at  Sparta, 


332     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

luxury  was  regarded  as  almost  criminal,  and  he  who  in 
dulged  in  it  was  regarded  with  contempt,  if  not  with 
execration.  The  sciences  were  also  cultivated  by  Athe 
nians  with  the  same  ardor  as  the  arts;  while  Spartans 
cared  nothing  for  science,  except  so  far  as  it  contributed 
to  the  efficiency  of  warfare.  As  another,  in  contrasting 
the  two  republics,  has  very  aptly  put  it,  "Sparta  was 
altogether  a  military  establishment ;  every  other  art  was 
prohibited,  industry  among  individuals  was  unknown,  and 
domestic  economy  unnecessary — for  all  was  in  common. 
The  Lacedaemonians  were  active  only  when  at  war.  In 
peace,  their  manner  of  life  was  languid,  uniform,  indolent, 
and  insipid.  Taught  to  consider  war  as  the  sole  honor 
able  or  manly  occupation,  they  contracted  a  fierce  and 
ferocious  turn  of  mind,  which  distinguished  them  from 
all  the  other  states  of  Greece.  Despising  the  arts  them 
selves,  they  despised  all  who  cultivated  them.  Their 
constitution  was  fitted  to  form  a  small,  a  brave,  and  an 
independent  state;  but  had  no  tendency  to  produce  a 
great,  a  polished,  or  a  conquering  people." 

Between  our  own  and  a  republic  so  peculiarly  consti 
tuted,  we  can  hardly  make  comparisons;  and  yet  we  find, 
even  in  that,  some  features  like  in  our  own.  Lysander  was 
not  only  a  great  general,  but,  as  Plutarch  calls  him,  he 
was  &fox  as  well.  Richelieu,  when  told  that  his  enemies 
called  him  a  fox,  said : 

"  Fox !— Well,  I  like  the  nickname !  What  did  Plutarch 
say  of  the  Greek  Lysander  ?  " 

Joseph.  I  forget. 

Richelieu.  That  where  the  lion's  skin  fell  short,  he  eked 
it  out  with  the  fox's !  A  great  statesman,  Joseph,  that 
same  Lysander! " 

Martin  Van  Buren,  both  before  and  after  he  became 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  called  a  fox,  because 
of  his  great  slyness  and  shrewdness  in  pulling  the  wires 


OF    SPARTA    AND    ITS    LESSONS.  333 

for  the  Democratic  party.  He  denounced  that  party 
before  he  died,  however,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  run 
against  their  regular  candidate  for  the  Presidency;  and, 
were  he  alive  to-day,  and  knew  of  the  secrets  which  this 
volume  discloses,  no  man  in  the  United  States  would  be 
more  free  in  denouncing  that  party  for  the  part  it  took  in 
the  rebellion,  and  for  the  part  it  is  still  taking  in  helping 
Europeans  in  their  designs  to  overthrow  this  government 
and  the  freedom  of  the  press,  than  Martin  Van  Buren. 

This  republic,  like  that  of  Athens,  had  its  ending  with 
the  battle  of  Ch<zronea,K.c.  3 38, after  which  the  all-conquer 
ing  Philip  took  possession  of  it  and  of  all  the  states  of 
Greece.  The  republic  had  existed  after  a  fashion  (for 
here,  as  at  Athens,  it  was  only  "  after  a  fashion  "  part  of 
the  time)  through  a  period  of  five  hundred  and  forty-six 
years ;  but  finally  died  from  the  ambition  of  those  within 
and  the  jealousy  of  those  without. 

Thebes  was  the  last  of  the  Grecian  republics,  but  for  a 
time  shone  with  as  much  brilliancy  as  either  of  the  others. 
It  had  its  origin  from  fortuitous  circumstances  rather  than 
from  the  genius  of  any  lawmaker;  but  it  produced  and 
nurtured  legislators  as  wise  as  Solon  or  Lycurgus,  and 
soldiers  as  brave  and  as  brilliant  as  Pericles  or  Lysander. 
When  Athens  and  Sparta  were  visibly  tending  to  decline, 
Thebes  suddenly  rose  to  a  degree  of  splendor  which 
eclipsed  all  her  sister  and  contemporary  states. 

Long  before  B.  c.  382,  at  which  time  the  citadel  of 
Thebes  was  seized  by  the  Spartans,  the  government  of 
the  Thebans  was  called  republican,  but  it  was  rather  so 
in  name  than  in  fact.  The  oligarchic  party  at  Thebes, 
corresponding  with  the  Democratic  party  of  this  country, 
were  all  the  while  aiming  at  the  establishment  of  an  oli 
garchy,  while  the  patriotic  supporters  of  liberty  and  inde 
pendence  were  just  as  determined  not  only  to  maintain 
the  republic,  but  to  make  it  so  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name. 


334     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

The  last-named  party  of  Thebes  corresponded  precisely 
with  the  Republican  party  of  this  country.  When  the 
contention  between  these  two  parties  was  at  fever  heat, 
it  happened  that  Phcebidas,  a  Lacedaemonian  general,  was 
sent  with  an  army  to  punish  the  people  of  Olynthus,  a 
Thracian  city,  for  an  alleged  infraction  of  a  treaty  of 
peace  formed  not  long  before.  While  Phcebidas  was  on 
this  expedition,  Leontiades,  the  head  of  the  oligarchic 
party  at  Thebes,  prevailed  on  him  to  second  the  attempts  of 
his  party  against  the  liberties  of  their  country.  The  Spar 
tan  general  yielded  to  the  suggestion,  and,  while  the  un 
suspecting  Thebans  were  celebrating  the  festival  of  Ceres, 
Phcebidas  marched  his  army  into  the  city  and  took  pos 
session  of  their  citadel.  When  the  republicans  of  Thebes 
protested  against  this,  the  Spartans  acknowledged  it  an 
act  of  treason  in  Leontiades  to  have  thus  betrayed  his 
country,  and  they  reprobated  the  conduct  of  Phcebidas 
in  giving  his  aid  to  a  measure  which  was  a  direct  infrac 
tion  of  a  national  treaty;  but  being  now  masters  of 
Thebes,  they  did  not  choose  to  abandon  their  acquisition. 

If  through  the  influence  and  aid  of  Lord  John  Brew- 
erton  (the  particulars  of  which  are  given  in  the  fifth 
chapter  of  this  volume)  and  others  like  him,  the  heads, 
the  Leontiadeses,  of  the  Democratic  party  of  this 
country,  could  have  betrayed  our  government  into  the 
hands  of  Great  Britain,  and  thereby  pleased  every  other 
kingly  government  of  Europe,  every  Englishman  would 
have  acknowledged  that  somebody  had  played  the  traitor, 
and  that  it  constituted  not  only  a  direct  infraction  of  the 
treaty  between  their  government  and  ours,  but  an  infrac 
tion  of  the  law  of  nations  as  well ;  yet,  like  the  Spar 
tans,  they  would  have  been  unequal  to  the  conflict  be 
tween  virtue  and  self-interest,  and,  like  them,  would  have 
replied,  Now  that  we  have  the  country,  we  '11  keep  it ! 

But  though  the  "  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly,  they 


OF    SPARTA    AND    ITS    LESSONS.  33$ 

grind  exceeding  fine,"  and  erelong  the  republicans  of 
Thebes,  headed  by  the  brave  Pelopidas,  and  seconded  by 
the  no  less  brave  Epaminondas,  shook  off  the  Spartan 
yoke — shook  off  the  oligarchy — and  reestablished  a  re 
publican  form  of  government,  and  from  thenceforth  the 
Theban  Republic  went  forward  in  a  career  of  glory  equal 
to  anything  that  Athens  or  Sparta  could  ever  boast. 
The  battle  of  Lenctra,  in  which  six  thousand  Thebans, 
commanded  by  Epaminondas,  entirely  defeated  twenty- 
five  thousand  Lacedaemonians,  leaving  four  thousand, 
with  their  chief,  Cleombrotus,  dead  upon  the  field,  was 
but  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  actions  all  of  which  re 
flected  upon  Thebes  the  highest  glory.  We  have  not 
room  to  relate  these  in  detail,  but  one  incident  in  the  life 
of  Epaminondas — at  its  close — we  cannot  omit.  The  full 
particulars  of  the  incident  may  be  found  in  Xenophon  and 
Diodorus,  but  its  gist  is  about  as  follows :  At  the  battle 
of  Mantinea,  Epaminondas,  too  rashly  pursuing  his  suc 
cess,  had  advanced  beyond  the  line  of  his  troops,  when, 
the  enemy  rallying,  he  was  exposed  to  a  whole  shower 
of  darts,  and  fell,  pierced  with  numberless  wounds.  "His 
faithful  Thebans,"  says  Professor  Tytler,  "  found  means  to 
rescue  his  body  while  life  yet  remained,  and  to  bring  him 
to  his  tent.  A  javelin  stuck  fast  in  his  breast,  and  his 
physician  declared  that  on  extracting  it  he  would  imme 
diately  expire.  In  this  extremity,  breathless  and  fainting, 
while  his  friends  stood  weeping  around  him,  he  first  in 
quired  what  had  become  of  his  shield,  and  being  told  that 
it  was  safe,  he  beckoned  to  have  it  brought  to  him,  and 
kissed  it.  He  then  asked  which  side  had  gained  the  vic 
tory,  and  being  told  it  was  the  Thebans,  '  Then/  said  he, 
*  all  is  well.'  While  some  of  his  friends  were  lamenting 
his  untimely  fall,  and  regretting  that  he  had  left  no  chil 
dren  to  perpetuate  his  memory,  '  Yes,'  said  he,  '  I  have 
left  two  fair  daughters,  Leuctra  and  Mantinea'  (the  names 


336     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

of  battle-fields) — '  these  will  perpetuate  my  memory ; '  so 
saying,  with  his  own  hands  he  drew  forth  the  javelin  from 
his  breast,  and  instantly  expired." 

If  the  republic  at  that  moment  could  have  died  with 
Epaminondas,  it  would  have  gone  out  in  a  blaze  of  glory ; 
but,  alas !  alas !  it  yet  contained  traitors  in  its  own 
bosom,  and  was  yet  to  reap  the  fruits  of  treason. 

Philip,  King  of  Macedon,  determined  to  subvert  the 
liberties  of  all  the  Grecian  republics.  To  him,  as  to  Eu 
ropean  sovereigns  of  to-day,  a  representative  form  of  gov 
ernment  was  hateful,  as  would  have  been  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  had  there  been  a  press  in  those  days.  It  was 
one  of  his  favorite  maxims  that  "  no  fortification  was  im 
pregnable  into  which  a  mule  could  make  its  way  with  a 
bag  of  money"  as  it  was  a  maxim  with  the  first  Napoleon 
that  "  every  man  has  his  price"  In  pursuance  of  this 
policy,  Philip  had  his  bribed  emissaries  in  Thebes,  as  he 
had  at  Athens  and  Sparta.  In  Athens  he  had  in  his  pay 
no  less  a  man  than  ^Eschines,  the  great  orator,  and  Aris- 
todemus  and  Neoptolemus,  the  two  great  comedians — all 
of  whom  were  men  of  the  highest  influence  in  the  public 
assemblies. 

With  such  men  at  the  capitals  of  the  three  largest  re 
publics — all  constantly  declaring  themselves  to  be  the 
"  stanchest  of  democrats" — it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
with  Philip  when  he  should  have  the  republics  within  his 
grasp.  Demosthenes  thundered  and  lightened  worse 
than  the  natural  elements.  His  "  Philippics  "  rolled  over 
the  heads  and  hearts  of  the  people,  and  found  responsive 
echoes  in  thousands  of  breasts ;  but  the  still,  small  voice 
of  Philip's  gold  in  the  pockets  of  leading  loud-mouthed 
so-called  Democrats  had  more  influence  than  all  the  thun 
ders  of  a  Demosthenes.  Philip's  far-reaching  plan  was 
first  to  introduce  treachery  in  the  heart  of  each  republic, 
and  then  set  them  at  variance  with  each  other,  that  his 


OF    SPARTA    AND    ITS    LESSONS.  337 

alliance  might  be  courted  and  an  opportunity  furnished 
for  introducing  Macedonian  troops  into  Greece.  He  had 
not  long  to  wait  for  the  maturing  of  his  plans.  The 
Phocians,  instead  of  paying  a  fine  inflicted  upon  them  by 
the  Amphictyonic  Council  (corresponding  to  our  Con 
gress),  seized  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Delphos,  with  all 
its  treasures.  This  set  the  republics  at  war  with  each 
other — some  siding  with  the  Council  and  some  with  the 
Phocians.  At  length  the  Thessalians  implored  Philip's 
assistance  against  their  tyrant,  Lycophron,  whose  govern 
ment  they  felt  to  be  intolerable.  The  tyrant  sought  aid 
of  the  Phocians  to  support  him  against  his  own  subjects. 
They  responded  to  Lycophron,  and  Philip,  with  an  alac 
rity  that  knew  no  precedent,  responded  to  the  people. 
The  result  of  all  this  was  that  Philip  obtained  a  strong 
foothold  in  Greece,  the  very  thing  he  had  so  long  sought 
through  his  paid  emissaries.  This  advantage  Philip  fol 
lowed  up  with  the  keen  scent  and  persistence  of  a  blood 
hound,  and  although  Demosthenes  still  continued  to  thun 
der  against  him,  Philip's  gold  in  the  pockets  of  sordid 
ignorance,  under  the  guise  of  democratic  patriots,  over 
balanced  the  warnings  of  eloquence,  and  thus  matters 
went  on,  step  by  step,  until  the  battle  of  Chaeronea,  when, 
at  one  fell  swoop,  not  only  the  republic  of  Thebes,  but  all 
the  other  republics  and  states  of  Greece,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Philip. 

Can  you  not  see,  my  friend  (the  reader),  in  all  this 
some  striking  points  of  resemblance  between  the  rise, 
progress,  and  fall  of  the  Theban  Republic,  and  the  rise, 
progress,  and  what  threatened  to  be  the  fall  of  our  own 
government  in  the  late  rebellion  ? 

According  to  European  notions,  we  had  a  sort  of  re 
public,  a  sort  of  representative  form  of  government,  prior 
to  1776;  but  it  was  rather  an  oligarchy  than  a  repub 
lic,  and  Washington,  Adams,  John  Hancock,  and  others, 
29  W 


SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 
* 

determined  to  have  a  real  republic  or  die  in  the  attempt. 
Seven  years  of  terrible  struggle  and  fearful  sacrifice 
brought  their  wishes  to  a  successful  issue.  From  1783 
until  1822  the  course  of  this  republic  was  one  blaze  of 
glory,  equal  to  anything  that  Thebes  could  ever  boast. 
Meanwhile  the  jealous  eyes  of  many  European  Philips 
had  been  looking  on,  and  finally  a  Congress  at  Vienna, 
in  1822,  entered  into  a  solemn  treaty  with  each  other 
(two  of  the  articles  of  which  we  have  heretofore  quoted) 
that  representative  governments,  and  the  liberty  of  the 
press,  were  "  incompatible "  (that  is  the  word)  with 
"  monarchical  principles,"  and  therefore  OUGHT  TO  BE 
ABOLISHED.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolve  the  Philips  of 
Europe  began  to  send  their  gold  into  this  country,  of 
which  no  less  than  $612,656  were  sent  from  a  single  city 
of  France  (Lyons)  in  four  years,  as  we  have  heretofore 
shown  from  their  own  published  reports.  True,  this  was 
but  a  drop  in  the  bucket,  but  it  shows  that  the  drops 
came  from  thick-lipped  vials,  and  consequently  were 
very  large  drops.  Among  the  contributions  made  about 
that  time,  it  was  announced,  with  a  great  flourish  of 
trumpets  and  as  greatly  to  his  credit,  that  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  had  contributed  TWENTY  THOUSAND  francs  to 
"  The  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith."  For 
the  propagation  of  what?  Of  the  faith/  God  save  the 
mark !  Had  the  item  read,  For  the  propagation  of  the 
Democratic  party,  and,  through  it,  monarchical  princi 
ples,  it  would,  in  our  humble  judgment,  have  been  nearer 
the  truth.  Of  course  we  do  not  know — no  one  ever  can 
know — what  proportion  of  the  money  contributed  in 
Europe  and  sent  to  this  country  (nominally  to  propagate 
the  faith  of  the  Catholic  Church)  went  into  the  hands  of 
State  and  National  Democratic  Executive  Committees; 
but  this  we  do  know,  as  well  as  we  know  any  conclusion 
drawn  from  known  facts  by  deduction,  that  the  money  so 


OF    SPARTA    AND    ITS    LESSONS.  339 

sent  had  for  its  ultimate  object  (no  matter  into  whose 
hands  it  first  fell)  more  the  destruction  of  the  representative 
form  of  this  government,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press,  than 
the  propagation  of  any  religious  faith. 

And  let  us  pause  a  moment  just  here  to  say,  that  the 
process  of  investigation  and  of  reasoning  by  which  we 
arrive  at  the  above  conclusion,  and  at  other  conclusions 
heretofore  announced,  is  very  near  to  certainty,  nor  is  it  at 
all  mystical.  As  Professor  Huxley  very  aptly  says,  when 
writing  of  the  results  of  induction  and  deduction,  "  The 
vast  results  obtained  by  science  are  won  by  no  mystical 
faculties,  by  no  mental  processes,  other  than  those  which 
are  practised  by  every  one  of  us  in  the  humblest  and 
meanest  walks  of  life.  A  detective  policeman  discovers 
a  burglar  from  the  marks  made  by  his  shoe, 'by  a  mental 
process  identical  with  that  by  which  Cuvier  restored  the 
extinct  animals  of  Montmartre  from  fragments  of  their 
bones.  Nor  does  that  process  of  induction  and  deduction 
by  which  a  lady,  finding  a  stain  of  a  particular  kind  upon 
her  dress,  concludes  that  somebody  has  upset  the  ink 
stand  thereon,  differ  in  any  way  from  that  by  which 
Adams  and  Leverrier  discovered  a  new  planet.  The 
man  of  science,  in  fact,  simply  uses  with  scrupulous  ex 
actness  the  methods  which  we  all  habitually  and  at 
every  moment  use  carelessly." 

Though  our  present  treatise  is  on  history  rather  than 
on  science,  we  have  used  the  facts  which  have  fallen  in 
our  way  from  a  somewhat  extensive  reading  and  study 
of  history  with  as  much  "scrupulous  exactness"  as  though 
we  had  been  writing  upon  science,  and  we  feel  within  our 
own  breast  that  the  conclusions  reached  are  very  near, 
if  not  a  dead,  certainty.  We  did  not  make  the  facts  that 
we  have  used.  They  have  been  parts  of  current  history 
from  time  to  time,  extending  through  a  period  of  nearly 
three  thousand  years.  We  have  simply  put  the  facts  in 


34O     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

logical  form — in  the  form  of  proposition  and  proof — and 
then  drawn  therefrom  such  inferences  as  seemed  natural 
and  inevitable.  Politicians  will  say,  we  know,  that  our 
conclusions  are  the  result  of  preconceived  opinions; 
bigots  in  religion  will  say  that  our  conclusions  are 
founded  upon  prejudice ;  but  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  will  be  true.  Take  the  same  facts,  and  we  defy 
any  logician  or  rhetorician  in  the  world  to  reach  different 
conclusions,  if  honest  with  his  own  conscience  before 
God. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE   CONCLUSION  OF  THE  WHOLE  MATTER. 

TTAVING  more  than  consumed  the  space  allotted  for 
1 1  this  volume,  we  have  neither  room  nor  time  left  in 
which  to  write  of  the  Roman  Republic  as  its  importance 
demands,  and  as  indeed  we  should  gladly  have  written. 
And  yet  we  confess  there  is  not,  or  ought  not  to  be,  any 
necessity  for  adding  another  word.  If  the  lessons  taught 
us  from  what  we  have  learned  of  the  three  preceding  re 
publics  have  not  opened  our  eyes  to  the  dangerous  ten 
dencies  of  the  DEMOCRATIC  party  as  a  party ;  if  we  are 
not  already  convinced  that  the  leaders  of  that  party,  and 
those  who  stand  behind  the  scenes  to  prompt  the  leaders 
and  furnish  them  with  the  "  sinews  of  war/'  in  the  shape 
of  European  gold,  have  for  their  ultimate  object  the 
setting  aside  of  our  representative  form  of  government  and 
the  destruction  of  the  liberty  of  our  press,  then  we  would 
not  be  convinced  though  one  arose  from  the  dead. 

Why,  then,  need  we  add  a  word  about  the  founding  of 
the  Roman  Republic,  five  hundred  and  ten  years  before 
Christ ;  why  tell  of  the  law,  then  for  the  first  time  enacted 
by  the  Senate,  that  any  citizen  who  had  been  condemned 
to  death  by  a  magistrate,  or  even  to  banishment,  or  cor 
poral  punishment,  should  have  the  right  of  an  appeal  to 
the  people  before  the  sentence  went  into  effect ;  why  tell 
of  the  wars  in  which  the  republic  was  thenceforth  en 
gaged,  and  how  gloriously  the  people  sustained  the 
honor  of  the  republic;  why  tell  how  the  people  were 
afterwards  betrayed  by  their  rulers,  and  made  to  suffer 

343 


344     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

the  most  intolerable  hardships  until  they  obtained  the 
privilege  of  electing  tribunes ;  why  tell  of  the  struggles 
that  these  tribunes  of  the  people  had  with  rulers  chosen 
by  the  aristocracy  for  many,  many  years  in  maintaining 
for  the  people  the  rights  for  which  they  had  made  im 
mense  sacrifice  of  life,  and  which  they  valued  so  highly ; 
why  tell — as  it  would  take  an  entire  volume  to  tell — how 
corruptions  crept,  from  time  to  time,  into  the  heart  of 
the  republic,  how  ambition  took  the  place  of  patriotism, 
how  the  leaders  in  the  provinces  were  watching  with 
jealous  eyes  those  at  Rome  and  vice  versa,  how  Caesar 
finally  "passed  the  Rubicon,"  how  he  seized  the  govern 
ment,  how  he  attempted  to  put  on  a  crown,  and  in  the 
attempt  lost  both  the  crown  and  his  life;  and  how,  when 
great  Caesar  fell,  fell  the  republic,  with  a  crash,  that  was 
heard  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth?  If  we  were 
to  tell  all  this  with  the  precision  of  a  Montesquieu,  or 
with  as  much  display  of  learning  as  an  Abbe  de  Vertot, 
there  could  only  be  gathered  therefrom  precisely  the 
same  lessons  as  we  have  already  learned  from  the  rise, 
progress,  decline,  and  downfall  of  the  three  Grecian  re 
publics. 

And  thus,  my  friend  (the  reader),  we  are  finally  brought 
face  to  face  to  the  last  clause  of  your  third  question,  as 
to  What  is  to  be  the  final  end  of  this  republic  ? 

The  shortest  answer  would  be,  We  don't  know,  and 
then  stop  right  there ;  but  this  would  not  be  satisfactory 
to  you.  The  next  shortest  answer  will  be  that  our  repub 
lic  will,  in  all  human  probability,  follow  the  fate  of  the 
Grecian  and  Roman  republics,  and  that  it  is  only  a  ques 
tion  of  time  when  that  shall  be.  We  know  that  such  a 
confession  is  humiliating  to  one's  pride,  and  that  we 
would  all  much  rather  believe,  as  it  is  usual  for  Fourth  of 
July  orators  to  say,  that  "this  republic  is  to  last  forever!" 


THE    CONCLUSION    OF    THE    WHOLE    MATTER.      345 

but  alas !  alas !  for  human  vanity,  it  is  only  too  true  that 
"  history  but  repeats  itself!  " 

But,  allowing  this  answer  to  be  the  correct  one,  it  by 
no  means  lessens  your  and  my  responsibility ;  for  whether 
that  end  comes  in  twenty  years,  or  two  hundred  years, 
or  two  thousand  years,  depends  altogether  upon  Americans 
themselves.  There  are  good,  and  true,  and  intelligent 
men  in  every  political  party,  as  there  are  good,  and  true, 
and  intelligent  men  in  every  religious  organization.  While 
we  conscientiously  believe  that  the  tendency  of  the  Demo 
cratic  party  to  be  just  as  we  have  repeatedly  stated;  and 
while  we  as  conscientiously  believe  that  the  Roman  Cath 
olic  Church,  as  a  church,  is  being  made  use  of  by  European 
sovereigns,  just  as  we  have  repeatedly  stated ;  yet  we  be 
lieve,  indeed,  we  know,  that  both  in  that  party  and  in  that 
church  are  as  good  men,  as  true  men, and  as  intelligent  men 
as  are  to  be  found  in  any  party  or  in  any  church  on  earth ; 
and  if  these  will  but  unite  with  the  good,  and  true,  and 
intelligent  of  other  parties  and  of  other  churches,  the 
representative  form  of  this  government,  and  consequently 
its  liberties,  and  the  liberty  of  its  press,  may  be  preserved 
yet  for  many  scores  of  years,  if  not  for  many  centuries. 
It  is  no  mere  figure  of  speech  to  say  that  "  the  price  of 
liberty  is  eternal  vigilance!'  Like  panthers  crouching  and 
waiting  for  their  prey,  the  enemies  of  this  government 
are  all  the  while  on  the  watch.  They  have  their  paid 
emissaries  not  only  at  Washington,  but  at  every  State 
capital,  just  as  Philip  of  Macedon  had  among  the  repub 
lics  of  Greece.  A  lack  of  vigilance  upon  the  part  of  pa 
triots  may,  at  any  one  of  our  national  elections,  put  the 
general  government  into  their  hands.  This  once  in  their 
hands,  they  will  find  a  way,  or  make  one,  as  we  have  here 
tofore  said,  to  hold  it  for  all  time  to  come;  for  every 
crowned  head  of  Europe  would  at  once,  openly  or  se 
cretly,  rally  to  their  support.  Then  would  come  a  weep- 


346     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

ing,  and  wailing,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  but,  alas,  it 
would  be  too  late !  Then  would  be  found  Americans  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  without  a  home  and  without  a  coun 
try,  but  their  regrets,  alas !  would  bring  back  neither. 
There  are  Greeks  and  Romans  to-day,  as  there  were 
Greeks  and  Romans  two  thousand  and  three  thousand 
years  ago ;  but  it  blurs  the  eye  to  see  (as  we  have  seen  in 
their  own  lands),  and  it  sickens  the  heart  to  think  (as  any 
intelligent  man  may  think)  of,  the  difference  between  a  cit 
izen  of  Greece  and  of  Rome  to-day  and  of  the  citizen  who 
lived  when  they  were  republics !  Pigmies  and  giants  are 
the  only  two  English  words  we  have  to  express  such  dif 
ference  ;  but  to  one  who  has  seen  and  felt  the  difference, 
while  travelling  through  their  own  lands,  these  words  fail 
utterly  to  convey  a  true  conception  of  the  real  difference 
which  exists. 

And  now,  my  good  friend  (the  reader),  I  must  bid  you 
farewell.  We  have  travelled  a  long  way  together — longer, 
perhaps,  than  has  occurred  to  you  as  we  have  steadily 
pursued  our  course.  Starting  in  our  own  times,  and  with 
events  in  some  of  which  we  have  ourselves  taken  part, 
we  have  slowly  ascended  the  river  of  time  until  we  reached 
a  point  (the  beginning  of  the  Athenian  Republic)  nearly 
three  thousand  years  from  where  we  started.  Then,  re 
tracing  our  way,  we  slowly  descended  the  river,  stopping 
long  enough  to  gather  a  few  grains  of  wheat  at  one  place, 
a  few  grains  of  rye  at  another,  a  few  grains  of  corn  at 
another,  and  so  on,  and  on,  until  we  have  got  back  to 
where  we  started.  In  the  beginning  of  our  journey  we 
peeped  into  some  dark  places — places  into  which  the  light 
of  history  never  before  had  shone,  but  which,  from  this 
time  forth,  will  be  as  well  known  as  any  other  facts  of  the 
great  rebellion. 

All  that  I  have  done  for  you,  in  all  these  journeyings, 
is,  at  near  the  close  of  our  pilgrimage,  to  select  out  the 


THE    CONCLUSION    OF    THE    WHOLE    MATTER.      347 

different  kinds  of  grain,  arrange  them  in  form  of  proposi 
tion  and  proof,  just  as  any  other  logician  or  rhetorician 
might  have  done,  and  then  point  out  to  you  that,  if  we 
would  be  profited  by  these  grains  (of  information),  picked 
up  on  the  way,  and  treat  them  in  a  certain  manner,  they 
would  yield  wholesome  bread  and  sustain  life  (the  life  of 
our  republic)  for  many  years  to  come ;  whereas,  treated 
in  another  way,  these  same  grains  would  only  make  the 
vilest  of  whiskey,  which,  used  wrongfully,  could  only  lead 
to  misery  and  final  death  here  and  eternal  death  here 
after.  In  some  things,  my  friend  (the  reader),  your 
knowledge  is  far  beyond  mine ;  in  others,  mine  may  be 
greater  than  yours,  because  of  chances  of  information 
which  happened  to  come  in  my  way  instead  of  coming 
in  yours.  While  glad  to  learn  anything  I  can  from  you, 
I  have  only  done  my  duty,  for  which  I  claim  no  credit — 
only  done  as  I  would  wish  to  be  done  by — in  communi 
cating  to  you  such  facts,  and  the  unmistakable  inference 
from  such  facts,  as  were  secrets  with  others  until  they 
came  to  me,  and  secrets  with  me  until  I  now  communi 
cate  them  to  you,  and  through  you  and  the  printed  page 
to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

And  now,  what  is  your  and  my  duty  in  the  premises  ? 
Is  it  to  sit  with  folded  hands  and  see  our  glorious  republic 
drift  on  and  on  until  it  falls  into  the  hands  of  the  Dem 
ocratic  party,  and  then  into  the  hands  of  European 
sovereigns,  and  then  is  blotted  out  in  one  eternal  night  ? 
Or  shall  we  not  rather  (as  Gough  so  graphically  pictures 
in  one  of  his  inimitable  lectures)  cry  aloud  to  those  whom 
we  see  carelessly  sailing  on  the  river  of  Time — the  Niag 
ara  River, — only  a  little  way  above  the  rapids,  and  within 
plain  hearing  of  the  thundering  of  the  all-devouring 
falls — "  Young  men,  ahoy  there ;  the  rapids  are  below  you  /" 
And  if  they  should  at  first  respond  with  a  "  Ha !  ha !  we 
will  laugh  and  quaff;  all  things  delight  us ;  what  care  we 


348     SECRETS  OF  THE  LATE  REBELLION. 

for  the  future  ?  " — then  to  cry  again,  still  louder  than  be 
fore,  "BEWARE!  BEWARE!  THE  RAPIDS  ARE  BELOW  YOU!" 
and  if,  after  all  this,  they  still  go  shrieking,  howling,  blas 
pheming  over  the  falls  of  the  river  of  Time,  your  skirts 
and  mine  will  be  free  of  their  blood. 

Or,  to  change  the  metaphor,  my  friend,  let  you  and  I 
and  all  of  us  who  love  a  representative  form  of  govern 
ment,  who  love  the  freedom  of  the  press,  who  love  our 
own  glorious  republic — let  us,  whenever  we  see  the 
"  ship  of  state  "  floundering  in  the  breakers  and  liable  to 
be  engulphed  by  the  angry  waves  of  passion,  hate,  and 
self-interest,  imitate  the  example  of  our  blessed  Saviour, 
and  cry  aloud,  "PEACE;  BE  STILL!  "  and  though  we  may 
not,  like  Him,  calm  the  waves  by  miraculous  power,  yet, 
if  with  our  cry  we  put  our  shoulders  firmly  together,  and 
pull  at  the  same  end  of  the  rope,  all  of  us  who  really 
love  the  republic — the  honest  Democrat  with  the  honest 
Republican,  the  honest  Catholic  with  the  honest  Protest 
ant — we  and  our  descendants  may  save  the  "  ship  of  state" 
from  sinking,  at  least  for  many  years,  if  not  for  many 
centuries  to  come.  And  may  God  bless  and  prosper 
every  such  united  effort  for  the  saving  of  our  glorious 
republic  J 


THE   END. 


VALUABLE  AND  INTERESTING  WORKS 

FOR 

Public  and  Private  Libraries, 

PUBLISHED  BY 

CROMBARGAR  &  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA. 


Any  of  the  following  works  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage 
prepaid,  on  receipt  of  price.  Letters,  plainly  and  simply 
addressed  CROMBARGAR  &  Co.,  Publishers,  Philadelphia, 
will  always  reach  us. 

Travels  in  the  Holy  Land,  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  and  Turkey. 

i  vol.,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  gilt,  over  500  pages.     Well 
Illustrated.     Price,  $2.00. 

This  work  accurately  describes  the  countries  through  which  "  THE 
AUTHOR"  travelled,  tells  of  their  past  and  present  condition  and  his 
tory,  and  gives  the  many  incidents  which  befel  him  and  his  family 
during  an  extended  tour  through  those  far-famed  Eastern  lands.  Its 
illustrations  embrace  a  view  of  Bethlehem ;  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  at 
Jerusalem ;  of  the  Pool  of  Siloam  ;  of  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane ;  of 
the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat ;  of  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  which  now  stands 
on  the  site  of  Solomon's  Temple,  at  Jerusalem ;  of  the  church  where 
Christ  was  born,  at  Bethlehem  of  Judea ;  of  ploughing  in  Syria ;  of 
a  Druse  marriage  procession ;  of  the  ruins  of  Baalbec ;  of  flat-top  houses 
in  Syria ;  of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

It  transports  the  reader,  by  easy  and  pleasant  stages,  from  Alexandria, 
in  Egypt,  to  Constantinople,  in  Turkey,  and  shows  him  every  city, 
town,  village,  mountain,  valley,  lake,  and  river  between  these  two 
points  ;  entertaining  him,  meanwhile,  with  the  thousand-and-one  inter- 
esting  incidents  of  sight-seeing  which  occur  every  day,  and  almost 
every  hour,  on  the  way.  It  grows  more  and  more  instructive  as  a 
history,  and  more  and  more  thrilling  and  instructive  as  a  narrative,  from 
the  first  page  to  the  last. 

Next  to  the  Bible,  there  is  no  book  so  intensely  interesting  to  a 
Christian  reader  as  that  of  the  land  where  Christ  was  born — where  he 
did  all  his  mighty  works — where  he  died  upon  the  cross — and  where 
he  rose  again  from  the  dead.  This  book  tells  the  whole  story  of 
"  Jesus  and  the  Cross,"  as  well  as  what  relates  in  those  lands  to  Abra 
ham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  all  the  Patriarchs.  It  should  be  on  the  centre- 
table  or  in  the  library  of  every  house  from  Maine  to  Georgia — from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 


2  VALUABLE  AND   INTERESTING    WORKS. 

Elizabeth's  Mission  (Faithful  and  True) :  A  Parable  of 
What  Might  Have  Been,  of  What  Was,  and  of  What 
Will  Be.  i  vol.,  crown  octavo,  cloth,  gilt,  thoroughly 
illustrated.  Price,  $2.00. 

Within  the  past  few  years  a  perfect  tornado  of  crime,  or  malignant 
persecution  (which  of  the  two  the  reading  of  this  book  will  help  the 
reader  to  determine),  has  swept  over  New  Jersey,  carrying  into  the  State- 
prison  a  score  or  more  of  men  who,  up  to  that  time,  had  been  counted 
as  among  its  most  worthy  citizens.  Among  those  thus  sent  to  State- 
prison  were  such  as  had  been  Senators,  Assemblymen,  United  States 
Commissioners,  Judges,  State  and  County  Treasurers,  County  Solicitors, 
City  Comptrollers,  Freeholders,  Officers  in  the  Army,  Lawyers,  Doctors, 
Ministers,  Officers  of  Banks,  wealthy  Farmers,  and  others.  It  seemed, 
for  a  time,  that  all  the  elements  of  society  had  been  unhinged,  and  that 
no  man,  no  matter  what  his  position,  was  safe  in  person,  property,  or 
reputation. 

.  This  one  great  fact  in  current  history  forms  the  ground-work  of  the 
parable  of  "  Elizabeth's  Mission"  Most  of  the  prominent  men  thus 
imprisoned  are  noticed  in  this  work  in  some  way  or  other;  but  one 
especially — a  DOCTOR  FRANCIS,  so  named — is  represented  in  this  book 
as  the  husband  of  the  ELIZABETH  who  is  made  the  heroine  of  the 
story,  and  it  is  her  Faithfulness  and  Truthfulness  to  him  that  consti 
tutes  the  gist  of  the  parable,  and  around  which  all  other  parts  are  made 
to  revolve.  There  are  a  large  number  of  characters  introduced,  each 
to  play  his  or  her  own  particular  part ;  but  this  ELIZABETH  is  made  the 
central  character,  and  from  the  conversations  which  occur  between  her 
and  her  husband,  at  different  times  and  under  different  circumstances, 
each  moral  of  the  story  (of  which  there  are  quite  a  number)  is  drawn. 

A  critical  eye  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  the  ELIZABETH  of  the  story 
is  the  velvet  glove  over  the  steel  hand  of  the  DOCTOR  ;  and  while  the 
one  smooths  by  her  gentleness  and  by  her  lovableness  of  character 
(than  which  a  more  perfect  and  lovable  one  was  never  drawn),  the 
other  crushes  with  arguments  from  antecedent  probability,  from  sign, 
and  from  example,  until  nothing  remains  of  those  he  takes  in  hand. 
While  the  Doctor  is  thus  crushing  to  some,  he  is  no  less  loving  to 
others.  The  comments  he  makes  upon  those  whom  his  wife  names  at 
one  of  their  sittings  prove  that  his  love  toward  his  friends  is  like  that 
of  Jonathan  toward  David,  or  Damon  toward  Pythias — wholly  bound 
less.  Elizabeth's  love  exceeds  the  Doctor's  just  as  much  as  a  woman's 
should  exceed  a  man's,  and  in  no  respect  are  the  two  characters  more 
admirably  drawn  than  in  this.  His  is  a  masculine  hate  and  love,  hers 
a  womanly, — the  two  uniting  in  intense  love  for  each  other. 

The  reformation  which  such  a  book  should  work  in  Criminal  Pro 
cedure  can  only  be  likened  to  what  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin"  did  work 
in  political  procedure — convulsion,  war  to  the  knife,  and  final  aboli 
tion  of  all  that  is  wrong  in  the  system ;  until  it  should  be  as  impossible 
for  an  innocent  man  to  suffer  wrong  as  for  a  guilty  one  to  escape  pun 
ishment. 

No  one  can  read  this  book  without  profit,  nor  without  an  increasing 
thrill  of  pleasurable  excitement  from  the  first  chapter  to  the  last. 


VALUABLE  AND  INTERESTING    WORKS.  3 

Secrets  of  the  Late  Rebellion,  now  Revealed  for  the  First 

Time,     i  vol.,  crown  octavo,  fully  illustrated,  cloth  and 

gilt.     Price,  $2.00. 

Since  the  war  of  the  Great  Rebellion  began  and  ended,  nothing  has 
appeared  in  print  of  such  thrilling  interest  as  this  will  prove  to  be.  I 
say  this  unhesitatingly  now,  after  reading  the  manuscript,  and  have  no 
fear  of  having  to  take  a  single  word  of  it  back.  The  disguising  and 
passing  of  an  English  Lord,  under  the  conduct  of  a  Rebel  Colonel, 
through  the  Union  and  Rebel  lines,  from  Washington  to  Richmond  and 
back ;  what  occurred  at  old  Aunt  Rachel's  cabin ;  the  Lord  and  the 
Colonel's  ride  nn  a  two-wheeled  dirt-cart,  behind  a  blind  mule,  from 
midnight  to  daylight ;  the  Lord's  grand  reception  and  princely  treat 
ment  at  Richmond,  and  by  the  "  Cotton-Kings  "  on  his  return  to  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York  ;  the  passing  and  re-passing  of  English  manu 
facturers  and  New  York  cotton  speculators  through  the  Union  and 
Rebel  lines,  under  the  conduct  of  the  same  Rebel  Colonel ;  the  con 
sultations  in  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  by  "  Cotton-Kings,"  and  how 
they  managed  to  "  shut  the  eye  "  of  the  Government,  while  aiding  the 
Rebels  and  making  immense  profits  for  themselves ;  the  killing  of  one 
of  Baker's  detectives  by  one  of  President  Davis's  "  underground  con 
ductors  ;"  the  interview  between  Senator  (afterwards  President)  Johnson 
and  a  Rebel  Colonel ;  the  dangers  and  hair-breadth  escapes  of  this  same 
Colonel  on  several  occasions ;  the  secret  operations  of  Moseby's  gue 
rilla  band,  never  before  revealed,  including  the  burning  alive,  frequent 
robbery,  and  frequent  murder  of  Union  officers  and  soldiers  ;  the  "  Bay 
onet  "  court  at  Alexandria;  its  trial  of  slave-masters  for  horrible 
whippings  of  their  slaves,  and  of  Rebels  for  assaults  upon  Union  citi 
zens;  the  "  Hutchinson  concert"  at  Alexandria,  guarded  by  Union 
soldiers;  interviews  between  the  Provost  Judge  and  President  Lincoln, 
Secretary  Cameron,  Attorney-General  Bates,  and  others — all  these  and 
scores  of  others  of  like  character,  being  once  read,  can  never  be  effaced 
from  the  memory. 

These  facts  (most  of  which  are  now  for  the  first  time  revealed)  ex 
plain  many  things  about  the  Rebellion  which,  at  the  time,  were  pro 
found  mysteries  to  everybody ;  especially,  why  it  was  that  the  war 
could  last  nearly  five  years,  when  everybody,  at  the  beginning,  thought 
it  could  be  finished  in  three  months  ;  and  how  and  why  it  was  that 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  had  to  be  expended,  and  tens  of  thou 
sands  of  lives  sacrificed,  when  the  expenditure  of  a  single  million  of 
dollars,  and  the  loss  of  a  single  thousand  lives,  should  have  settled 
the  whole  affaif.  The  last  few  chapters  are  altogether  the  most  terri 
ble  indictments  against  a  party  and  against  a  church  ever  drawn  by  the 
pen  of  man.  The  arranging  of  facts  in  the  form  of  proposition  and 
proof,  and  then  the  inferences  or  conclusions  drawn  from  those  facts, 
are  the  most  damaging  and  damning  that  could  have  been  put  in  the 
form  of  words.  If  either  party  or  church  can  survive  such  a  blow, 
then  Bacon's  saying,  that  "  The  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword,"  will 
have  to  be  reversed.  Every  man  in  the  United  States  ought  to  read 
this  book,  and  until  he  does  read  it,  he  never  can  or  will  fully  under 
stand  the  great  War  of  the  Rebellion. 


